What Causes Back Pain?

Unfortunately, we don't pamper our precious backs as we do our skin or hair or nails. We should. Back pain is said to affect at one time or another up to 80% of the population. It is estimated that four out of five adults under the age of 45 will experience some sort of back pain in their lives. Back pain is said to be the second most common cause of people taking time off from work (the first being the common cold).

What are some characteristics of this surprisingly common condition?

Some describe their back pain as a dull ache, while say others say it's a sharp, stabbing pain. Some describe it as a feeling of stiffness or numbness.

At its worse, back pain may be debilitating, an unbearable agony that can leave a sufferer bed-ridden, experiencing nausea, vomiting and even fever. Back pains may be temporary (e.g., caused by pregnancy or as a symptom of another disorder), permanent (e.g., caused by a spinal disorder) or sporadic (e.g., caused by bad posture).

Often, those who have experience a traumatic back injury suffer from emotional stress. Depression is common among those who have been placed on bed rest for an extended period of time, and is also found in people whose life style has changed significantly because of their pain.

Although back pain is most commonly caused by injury or degenerative illness, there are a wide variety of reasons people experience back pain. Among those reasons are:

-- Back pain experienced by the aged is, unfortunately, part and parcel of the aging process. This type of back pain may be caused by any of a number of back disorders, e.g., spinal stenosis.

-- Temporary back pain which is often experienced by pregnant women and women with menopause. Some people mention they experience a type of "nervous' back pain.

-- Degeneration of joint tissue, or cartilage, caused by arthritis.

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

-- Bad posture is one of the most common causes of backache, experienced particularly in certain occupations, e.g., secretaries who sit all day or sales assistants who stand all day. Many manual labor jobs may cause back pain.

-- Infections, both viral and bacterial, can cause back pain. Meningitis and urinary tract infections are just a few that result in back pain.

-- Inherited diseases, or diseases you are born with, can cause a life time of pain. One example would be scoliosis.

-- Back pain can be the result of diseases as well as infections. Gall bladder infections, kidney disease, pancreatitis, as well as many others will cause discomfort.

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.

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Molly Cardella owns the Cure Back Pain site. Drop by her website and find out useful info on back pain exercises and more.

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