Most people experience back pain at some point in their lives. It is one of the most common reasons for missed workdays, impaired quality of life, and medical visits. Back pain can be debilitating and lead to serious conditions like arthritis or nerve damage if not dealt with properly. Most of the time, back pain can be treated with chiropractic care and alternative treatments. However, some cases might require other solutions.
People of all ages can experience back pain. It can be due to many or a combination of causes that include injuries, arthritis, pregnancy-related conditions like scoliosis and degenerative disc disease, obesity, poor posture, and stress. Back pain causes a lot of inconveniences for people and should be addressed as soon as possible.
Classifications of Back Pain
Back pain is classified into three categories: acute (short term), subacute (one to three months), and chronic (more than three months).
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Acute back pain
Acute back pain is typically caused by an injury to the back. It can be due to a strain, sprain, fracture, or pulled muscle. Sports injuries are also common causes of acute back pain. The most serious type of sport-related back injury is the damage done to one or more discs in the spine. This results in bleeding and nerve root tension. Other causes of acute back pain include slipped or ruptured disks, tumors and infections in the spine, compression fractures that result from osteoporosis, and degenerative disc disease.
Back injuries such as herniated discs can affect your daily life too much to deal with it alone without medication therapy. This is because this type of injury and the others listed above causes constant pain that makes it difficult to concentrate on work and other tasks.
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Subacute back pain
On the other hand, subacute back pain, which lasts for less than three months, may be caused by a minor injury such as lifting something heavy or even just sneezing. This type of back pain usually goes away on its own after the injury heals, so medication therapy isn’t necessary. However, you can ask your doctor about it if dealing with subacute back pain becomes too difficult.
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Chronic back pain
Lastly, chronic back pain is defined as any type of back pain that lasts more than six months and does not go away on its own even after the injury has healed. This kind of back pain may be caused by a serious condition such as cancer or arthritis. Still, most chronic cases are actually due to an accumulation of minor injuries over time.
People who suffer from chronic back pain should go to the doctor and get a proper diagnosis because dealing with chronic back pain can be difficult. Some people even develop depression or anxiety due to constant, excruciating low-back pain that never goes away.
Dealing with Back Pain
Back pain can be an extremely disruptive injury that limits your ability to perform daily activities, socialize with friends and family, or even go on vacation. But dealing with back pain doesn’t have to involve medication therapy if you follow your doctor’s suggestions.
Diagnosis of back injuries is done through a combination of patient history, physical exams, imaging tests such as x-ray or MRI scans, and occasionally nerve conduction studies. Treatment for these types of injuries varies depending on what the cause of the pain is.
Treatment for back injuries can include physical therapy, acupuncture, massage therapies, or even using heat/ice packs to reduce swelling and stiffness in the muscles around the spine. To help prevent any future back injury from occurring, you must take proper care when lifting heavy objects and try to avoid bending, twisting, or straining your back.
If you are dealing with any sort of pain in the back area, be sure to talk with a medical professional about what kind of treatment options may be available for you. Having access to high-quality care will ensure that you can quickly receive help and get on the path towards healing as soon as possible.
Back Pain as an Inconvenience
People who are suffering from back pain are dealing with a significant amount of physical discomfort. Getting through the day can sometimes be difficult, especially when dealing with back pain on its own or in conjunction with other health problems that are making everyday life more challenging than usual.
When you’re dealing with back pain, it is likely that taking care of your family and doing some tasks around your household will become challenging to do. Therefore, you need to make sure that you make the changes necessary to get your back pain under control.
Managing back pain is easy enough, given that the problem is addressed as soon as it is manifested. Neglecting the problem will only make handling back pain even harder than it has to be.
