The menace of back pains which dates back to many years ago has been quite prevalent and a greater majority experiences such pain at one point in life. Nonetheless, it’s a condition that needs great attention especially bearing in mind that it can be closely related to the integrity of the spinal cord.
Severe back pain causes vary considerably and indicate the type of back pain that one suffers from. In essence, the type of back pain experienced is dependent on its cause and also defines the type of treatment administered as well as the back pain management regime employed.
Understanding Your Back Pain Condition
A proper understanding of the type of back pain that you are suffering from should always be the first thing that clicks in your mind as soon as you feel the stinging pain between the base of your ribs and your pelvic region.
Here is a breakdown of the two types of severe back pain and their characteristics:
Specific back pain – This type of back pain is always associated with a pathological condition or a medical disorder. Some of the indicators of such back pain include numbness on the limbs and bottoms, pain that develops gradually and worsens progressively, recent history of physical trauma, a pain that that is not eased by resting or spreads to the upper back region and bladder problems that lead to urine incontinence.
Non specific back pain – Non specific back pain accounts for the highest percentage of back pain problems hitting a high of 90% of reported cases. In most cases, lying flat, changing posture or resting eases such pain which points out that the irritation has more association with soft tissues and ligaments and not with the vertebral column.
Understanding that this is the most prevalent type of back pain may give one a good reason to smile but the severity of the pain varies significantly. Some people only experience mild back pains while others experience very severe back pains that needs immediate medical intervention.
Common Causes of Severe Back Pains
Specific Back Pain Causes
As indicated earlier, specific back pain is caused by pathological conditions or body disorders which affect the spine, the nerves or the vertebral column. The specific underlying causes of this type of back pain problem include:-
- Cancers and infections
- Spinal cord disorders such as spinal stenosis and degenerative joint disease
- Inflammatory diseases
- Prolapsed or herniated disk which “sits” on a spinal nerve
- A fracture of the spine
- Caudal aquina syndrome often characterized by urine incontinence and numbness around the anus
In most cases, these types of back pain need surgical intervention or other medical procedures to address the underlying cause prior to alleviating the back pain.
Non-Specific Back Pain Causes
Even though the term “Non Specific” tends to create an impression that there are no specific causes of this type of back pain problem, the reality is that there are a number of known causes of non specific back pains although they are not associated with any pathological condition. Ideally, the causes are closely linked to one’s lifestyle or the kind of posture habit that one is used to.
Here is a breakdown of these causes:
- Using an uncomfortable chair for a prolonged period of time
- Using chairs with insufficient back support
- Adopting a forward-lean pose whenever working on the computer or on the daily working desk
- Pregnancy
- Sleeping on a mattress that has significantly lost its firmness
- Sedentary lifestyle
The treatment regime for back pain caused by these factors is often geared towards adjusting the subject’s lifestyle, daily habits and use of physiotherapy techniques to counteract the effects of this condition.
The Best Back Pain Management Regime for Quicker Recovery
Faster recovery from either of the two classes of back pain is highly dependent on the efficiency of back pain management regime adopted. Basically, such management regimes aim at reducing the severity of the pain within the shortest time possible, helping patients cope with the mild residual pain, restoring individual’s ability to attend to his or her daily activities and more importantly assessing the side effects of the associated therapy.
Worthy components of this management regime include:
Heat based hydrotherapy – This kind of therapy aims at promoting circulation and easing tension on the ligaments and soft tissues around the affected back region. This is done through hot baths, whirlpools or through heat wraps placed over the aching back region for 4 – 6 hours. Cold compressions may also be intermittently used to ease the associated pain.
Use of medications to ease the pain – Even after checking the underlying cause (irrespective of whether the cause was specific or non specific), easing the associated pain is of paramount importance. This can be done by taking muscle relaxants and Non Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs pain relievers such as aspirin, naproxen and ibuprofen.
Massage and Acupressure treatments – Both massage and acupressure treatments employ pressure point and restricted manipulation techniques to ease back pains. However, this treatment needs to be done by experienced personnel; thanks to the development of chiropractic practice which has abundantly checked such needs.
Acupuncture – This type of treatment utilizes muscle and nerve function stimulation. Even though the skin is literally punctured with very thin needles, it is considered to be minimally invasive and very safe. After insertion of the ultra thin needles into the body muscles through the skin, they are then stimulated by either electrical means or through manual stimulation techniques to acquire desired results.
Gravity inversion therapy – This form of therapy is particularly important for subjects recovering from back pains caused by degenerative joint disease or prolapsed vertebral disk. Ideally, the subject’s body is inverted on a kind of incliner or by being restrained with boots on a gravity inversion table. Such body inversion eases the stress on the affected region which promotes healing and eases the associated back pain.
Respondent Cognitive and Progressive Relaxation therapy – These two awareness-based therapies aim at educating the subjects on the psychological aspects of the condition and also equip them with better skills to reduce chances of experiencing back pains.
Prevention is Better than Cure
All said and done, early intervention is always worthwhile. One should get the problem addressed by a professional health practitioner soonest possible especially when the pain does not seem to reside when one lies flat or when the pain seems to spread to the upper back region, chest and arms.