What Causes Back Pain?

by: MollyCardella
Total views: 18 | Word Count: 419

Back pain is among the most common injuries and aliments in America, with over half of all people experiencing back pain at some point. Back pain is often caused by neglecting back health, and is a common cause of missed days at work.

The truth is that back pain can be avoided simply by visiting your professional and maintaining good health and posture habits.

Back pain is described in many different ways, and the type of pain you may experience will vary depending on the type of injury or illness you have. Back pain that occurs suddenly may be caused by injury, while back pain that occurs gradually usually indicates an underlying condition.

Back pain can cause mild discomfort to intolerable agony. On the extreme end, back pain can leave people bed-ridden and suffering nausea, vomiting, and fever. Back pain can be acute (due to a temporary condition like pregnancy), chronic (as with scoliosis), and sporadic (a lifetime of bad posture).

Whatever the cause, sufferers all agree that back pain results in physical and emotional difficulty. Unfortunately, back pain is a vicious cycle. Back pain, in and of itself, creates more back pain. Sufferers have poor posture, stooping over to alleviate some of the pain. This poor walking creates more back pain, making the problem worse.

What are some causes?

-- Growing old. An unavoidable part of life, growing old also includes losing muscle mass, which may in turn cause back pain.

-- Temporary back pain is caused by temporary conditions, such as the flu or a pregnancy. It can also be brought on by a psychological condition, such as stress.

-- Arthritis is a very common cause of back pain. Athletes and the elderly suffer this the most.

-- A sports injury or car accident may cause back pains. Lumbar sprains and strains or vertebral fractures may result in local, specific back trauma.

-- Work related muscle stress, which may be caused by stooping or slouching as you work.

-- Certain viral and bacterial infections, e.g., meningitis or a urinary tract infection, may cause back pain.

-- Congenital back pain may be caused by certain inherent diseases (those a person may be born with, e.g., curvature of the spine).

-- Illness, such as liver or kidney disease.

As terrible as back pain is, it can be reduced, and often eliminated, by diagnosing the root cause. Degenerative disease and poor posture related pain can be reduced by conventional or homeopathic exercises and painkillers. Pain resulting from injury and disease can be completely eliminated.