Sunday, July 17, 2016

Information On Chronic Back Pain

By Kimberly Rogers


Over eighty percent of all adults suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. In Greenbelt, discomfort in the back is the major cause of missed work days. Both women and men are equally affected by this problem according to research findings. The severity of the pain varies from dull persistent discomfort to sudden, sharp feeling of pain that is capable of incapacitating the patient. In this article, chronic back pain will be abbreviated as CBP.

Any discomfort in the back region, which persists for more than three months is classified as CBP. The classification holds if any possible underlying cause has been diagnosed and treated. Up to twenty percent of all acute pain back cases develop into CBP. Surgical and medical intervention are the main treatment options for this condition and they work in most cases, but not always.

CPB characteristically occurs in the lumbar region within the five vertebrae of the lower back region. This region is the one responsible for supporting the upper part of the body. Movement and other bodily actions result into shock, pressure, and friction in the vertebrae discs. The intervertebral discs function to absorb the shock and minimize friction. Ligaments are available to maintain the vertebrae in place. Signals from the spinal cord are transmitted to the brain by a total of 31 pairs of nerves.

In most cases, this problem is caused by causes that have a mechanical nature. For instance, the spine undergoes wear and tear naturally as people continue to age. The wear and tear results in pains over time. Additional causes include sprains and strains, herniated or ruptured discs, intervertebral degeneration, radiculopathy, traumatic injury, skeletal irregularities, and sciatica.

Sprains and strains are the main cause of this medical condition in most people. Sprains occur when the ligaments in the vertebrae are overstretched or torn. On the other hand, strains are caused by tearing of muscles or tendons. Both strains and sprains may be caused by overstretching, lifting or twisting something improperly, or lifting too much weight. Spasms may also be triggered by such events, causing a lot of pain.

A condition called radiculopathy results from injury, inflammation, and/or compression of spinal nerve roots. As a result of the pressure exerted, numbness, tingling sensation, or pains are caused and radiated to all other body parts the nerve serves. This pressure comes from ruptured discs or spinal stenosis.

Accidents, sports, and falls may also cause injury to the tendons, muscles, and ligaments within the back region. Traumatic injury compresses the spine causing intervertebral discs to rupture or herniate. Such discs in turn place pressure onto roots of nerves causing pain. Skeletal irregularities include congenital anomalies like lordosis and scoliosis. Scoliosis is the curving of the spine that only causes problems to mid-aged people.

A number of serious underlying medical problems may also lead to CBP although this does not occur commonly. These medical conditions include abdominal aortic aneurysms, infections, kidney stones, cauda equine syndrome, and tumors. People with endometriosis, inflammatory conditions of the joints, fibromyalgia, and osteoporosis are predisposed to CBP.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment