Oh, Your Aching Back!

Back pain may begin to affect us as we get older. The statistics surrounding lower back pain are surprising. A staggering 60% of adults will complain of back pain in any given year. Simple back pain is usually caused by one of three conditions: strains, sprains and osteoarthritis. What is back strain? Back muscles are among the longest, strongest muscles in the body. But despite their size these muscles can actually tear. When a muscle in the back tears or rips that is called a muscle strain. The most likely cause of muscle strain comes from calling on the muscle to lift a heavy load before it is sufficiently warmed up and ready for the activity of lifting. There may be subsequent bleeding into the injured area. Pain will not necessarily be immediate. Unfortunately, what sometimes happens is that a person who has injured his back may continue to engage in the activity that caused the injury since there is no pain present, thereby further injuring his back. Within a couple of hours bleeding into the injured area may be of such volume as to cause pain. The ripped muscle may then cause pain, muscle spasms, and swelling. What is a back sprain? Sprains are caused by an over stretching of the ligaments in the back. They can sometimes tear when stretched beyond their natural limits. Sprains can occur from a single activity or action or from more gradual overuse over time. A sprain in the lower back may also be caused by a tear in an disc of the vertebra in the lumbar area of the spine. A torn disc may secrete a substances that causes inflammation. Back pain from a strain can limit activity from three to four weeks. In some cases the pain can become chronic or the sprain may recur due to inadequate conditioning. What is osteoarthritis of the spine? Spinal arthritis can also cause back pain. Osteoarthritis of the spine is caused by the breakdown of the cartilage between the joints in the back of the spine. Friction results as bone rubs on bone. Flexibility and range of motion decrease. Eventually bone spurs typically form on the spinal vertebrae. Osteoarthritis in the spine is of two types. osteoarthritis of the lower back (lumbar spine),which produces stiffness and pain in the lower spine and sacroiliac joint (between the spine and pelvis). Osteoarthritis of the neck (cervical spine, sometimes called cervical spondylosis which can cause stiffness and pain in the upper spine, neck, shoulders, arms and head. How do I protect my back? Even though back injury can occur at any time. There are things that we can do to protect our back from injury. - Proper conditioning. Working out to develop strength in your back will lessen the likelihood that you will cause injury to your back. - Weight training and abdominal exercises go a long way to strengthening both your actual back muscles as well as the supporting muscles that help keep your back from injury. Proper technique. The way in which you perform physical activity will help you keep your back healthy. Engaging the knees and leg muscles when lifting will spread the weight out among a great area of the body. Sharing the load with other muscles will help keep a person from putting undue stress on the back. - Proper rest. When you feel tired, your muscles are more than likely tired as well. Tired muscles are less likely to provide adequate support. When you're tired, you're also more likely to succumb to forces that could stress or overextend a muscle. - Proper warm-up. Stretching properly before and after physical activity loosens up the muscles and increases range of motion. The muscles will be less tight and less prone to injury. Proper supplementation. Lubrication of the joints and cartilage can go a long way to lessening the chance that your back pain will affect you. Phosoplex