“Charise on your Health”: the Commonality of Low Back Pains

You wake up in the morning and feel a deep seated pain in your lower back. When you try to move around to get some relief you find that the pain is not improving. In fact, it feels better if you do nothing at all. If this sounds like you, you're not alone.

Low back pain is the second most common symptom-related reason for physician visits in the United States and the fifth most common reason for physician visits in the World. In American adults younger than 45-years of age, low back pain is the most common cause of disability and work absenteeism. When persons of all ages are considered, back pain is the second leading cause for absenteeism in the United States, accounting for approximately 25 percent of all lost workdays.

The cause of low back pain is complex because the muscles and nerves of the back are complex. Back pain may present as a sprain (meaning ligaments affected) or a strain (muscles affected). Degeneration (age-related), disc herniation and bulging (symptoms of injury/accidents) are other causes. It is up to your doctor to determine the distinction. However this can be difficult, especially since some back pain has unknown causes. Whatever the cause, the treatment, in most cases, is the same. It is important that back pain lasting more than one to three months be evaluated, especially when accompanied by leg numbness, burning, loss of blower/bladder function.

The risk factors and correlations with low back pain include smoking, obesity, age, female gender, work that is sedentary or perceived as stressful, lower educational level, workers' compensation claims and certain psychological characteristics.

X-rays are primarily used to help diagnose a cause of low back pain. More specialized examinations such as CT Scans and/or MRI are also used for diagnosis in addition to when surgery may be an option for treatment.

Treatment options for low back pain include physical therapy, spinal manipulation, massage and acupuncture. However, pain medication, muscles relaxants and other pharmacological methods are the mainstay of therapy.