Sunday, July 17, 2016

Things To Know About Chronic Back Pain

By Kimberly Rogers


Research indicates that back pain is a common problem with more than 80n percent of all adults experiencing it at some point. It is the main cause why people miss work in Greenbelt. Both women and men have the same predisposition to this medical condition. Severity ranges from sharp pains capable of rendering an adult incapacitated within a short while to dull but persistent discomfort. The abbreviation CBP for chronic back pain will be assumed in this article.

CBP is the pain that one feels for a period of 12 weeks or more even after treatment of underlying injury or cause. More than twenty percent of all people suffering from acute pain in their backs end up developing CBP with persistent symptoms. In most cases, surgical and medical treatment relieves the symptoms and alleviates the discomfort, but in other cases, the problem may persist.

In most cases, CBP occurs in the lower part of the back in the five vertebrae within the lumbar region. The lumbar region is the part that supports much of the weight exerted by the upper body. Intervertebral discs between the vertebrae help to absorb shock and minimize friction during movement. The vertebrae is held in position by ligaments. In total, the spinal cord has 31 pairs of nerves that transmit signals between the body and brain.

A huge number of the causes of this problem is mechanical in nature. In most cases, especially in old people, the pains are caused by the normal wear and tear occurring in the spine with age. Other causes include sprains and strains, intervertebral degeneration, herniated or ruptured discs, radiculopathy, sciatica, traumatic injury, and skeletal irregularities.

In most people, the cause of this problem is sprains and strains. When ligaments of the vertebrae are overstretched, sprains result. Conversely, strains come from tearing of muscles and/or tendons. There are many causes for both strains and sprains including lifting heavy objects and overstretching. The same causes may also cause spasms, which are equally painful.

When the spinal nerve root is injured, inflamed and/or compressed, it causes a condition called radiculopathy. The exertion of pressure onto nerve roots causes numbness, pains, or tingling sensation, which radiates to other regions of the body that are served by the nerve. The pressure may result from herniated discs or spinal stenosis.

Sports, car accidents, and falls may injure muscles, ligaments, and tendons of the back, causing CBP. Intervertebral discs are usually herniated or ruptured as a result of excessive compression caused by traumatic injury. Nerve roots are in turn pressured by herniated discs, resulting into pain. Irregularities in the skeleton include congenital anomalies such as scoliosis and lordosis. Scoliosis only manifests in middle aged people. It is caused by presence of a curvature in the spinal cord.

CBP may also be caused by serious underlying medical conditions although this occurs rarely. Several medical conditions may cause the problem. Major ones are infections, tumors, cauda equine syndrome, abdominal aortic aneurysms, and kidney stones. Osteoporosis, endometriosis, fibromyalgia, and inflammatory diseases of the joints predispose people to CBP.




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