Closer look at Back Pain
Acute low back pain is one of the most common reasons people go to the doctor and it is second only to the ordinary cold as a cause for missing work. It is the leading workmen’s comp injury and cause of disability in people under the age of 45. Back pain is ranked second in diagnosed leading to surgery. Medical experts say the incidence of back pain may occur more often due to the alarming increase in obesity and the gradual aging of our population.
Causes Of Acute Back Pain
- An injury or trauman such as a car accident
- A sports injury
- Lifting or straining at work or around the house
- Sudden twisting movement while lifting or moving a heavy object
- A fall
- A blow to the body that is strong enough to force a joint out of its normal position
- Chronic overuse of muscles and tendons from repetitive, prolonged movement
Symptoms
- Sudden sharp pain in lower back that causes extreme discomfort
- Muscle spasms or cramping in lower back
- A dull, persistent nagging pain in lumbar region that appears after hours of work, such as shoveling snow, digging, or bending.
- Sharp pain in low back may radiate down front, side or back of one leg
- Activity may aggravate the pain
- Sitting may also make it worse
- Decreased range of motion
- Difficulty walking
- Problems bending forward or sideways
- Standing erect may become painful
Acute back pain may gradually ease and clear up after a month or so. When the pain is due to trauma resulting in a back sprain or strain the pain may gradually clear up. Muscle strains and sprains are often grouped together and referred to by physicians as musculoligamentous injuries of the lumbar spine.
Lumbar Strain - Bacj Strain
The tendons are fibrous bands that are connected muscles to the bone. With a back strain, the muscle fibers in the low back are stretched or torn. Tendons that help the support the spine in the low back may also be twisted, torn or pulled. The result is a lumbar strain, also diagnosed as a low back strain.
Lumbar Sprain - Back Sprain
A sprain is the stretching or tearing of a ligament which is a tough band of tissue that connects two or more bones at a joint and prevents excessive movement of that joint.With a lumbar sprain, low back muscles and the ligaments are stretched or torn.
Chronic back pain is classfied if the pain persists for three months or more. This may become progressively worse and the cause can sometimes be difficult to determine. Thorough physical examination must be done as well as lab tests and x-rays. To determine the cause of back pain a CT scan and MRI might be ordered from your Doctor.
For more information about back pain and treatments for back pain visit our resource on back pain relief.
