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What to Do with Back Pain
Anyone who has experienced back pain knows that it is not a joke. Your back is composed of your spine and several muscle groups that support your entire body while standing or sitting down. If something goes wrong with your back, you will lose your mobility. In some cases, people even miss work because of back problems.
Fortunately, you can prevent this if you understand your back pain.
Common Back Pain Causes
The first step to understanding and preventing back pain is understanding what causes it in the first place. Back pain can develop slowly, without any reason, and can remain undetected even by a doctor until pain is felt.
There is a reason why it is essential to learn proper techniques in lifting weights at the gym or when doing physical work. Repeated heavy lifting using improper methods can strain your muscles and ligaments at the back. Sudden awkward movements can also do some damage. The constant strain can eventually cause painful spasms in your muscles.
Your spine is composed of bones called vertebrae and disks, the latter acting as a cushion. The problem occurs when the disk starts to bulge or gets ruptured. It then presses on a nerve along your spine that can cause severe pain. You can develop ruptured disks without experiencing back pain. The only way to diagnose that is through X-rays.
Arthritis along the spine can also cause severe back pain. Left untreated, it can lead to spinal stenosis, where spaces for nerves become narrow.
Your bones can become brittle due to osteoporosis. When that happens, the spine can develop painful fractures.
Back Pain Symptoms
The most common symptom of back pain is similar to muscle aches. You can experience a burning or even stabbing sensation. If left untreated, the pain can travel down from your back to your legs, affecting how you walk.
While most back pain improves on its own given some time, there are cases where self-treatment is not enough. It’ s time for professional treatment when you observe the following:
- Back pain persisting for weeks
- No improvement of the pain even with rest
- Spreading of the pain to other parts of the body, including your legs
- Feelings of numbness in your legs
- Bladder and bowel problems start to develop
- A fever begins to accompany the pain
You may also want to get checked if back pain develops after a significant fall or accident. You may have sustained a fracture or other serious injuries.
Preventing Back Pain
Exercise is one of the best ways to prevent back pain. By strengthening your back muscles, you create better support for your body. Stronger back muscles allow you to function better. Remember not to overdo it, however. One of the common causes of back pain is wrong techniques in lifting weights. Swimming and walking are excellent choices for activities that improve strength and condition without putting any strain on your back.
If you combine exercise with a proper diet, you will lose excess weight, reducing the weight your muscles and bones need to support daily. This, too, prevents back pain.
Smoking is a risk factor for back pain since it affects several parts of your body, like muscle strength and conditioning. Your body is less prone to back pain if you remove risk factors like smoking.
Get Immediate Help with ShorePoint Health Emergency & Urgent Care
As one of the only health systems in Cape Coral with ER and urgent care services under one roof, ShorePoint Health Emergency & Urgent Care offers affordable pricing, quality care, and trained staff. Patients are only billed based on the level of care received, and there are no appointments needed for in-person visits. The ER is available 24 hours a day, every day, and the urgent care walk-in clinic hours of operation are from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
ShorePoint Health Emergency & Urgent Care Cape Coral, a department of ShorePoint Health Port Charlotte, is located at 2521 Del Prado Blvd. N. in Cape Coral and may be reached at 239-356-0740.