The Causes Of Backache

Surveys claim that more than 17.5 million Britons suffer from backache, and the Health and Safety Executive claims that this alone accounts for lost working days numbering 5 million each year.

What comprises backache?
The prime region is the spine, which is a highly complex and intricate pattern of 33 small bones, also known as vertebrae.

Each vertebra is separated by a disc in between, whose purpose is to act like a shock absorber to stop the two bones to rub against each other.

These discs are made of a substance similar to jelly in nature and the outer covering is a thick and tough fibrous casing to protect it.

An arrangement of ligaments, tendons, specialized back muscles and nerves act as the main support for the spinal cord.

Causes of backache
Since the spinal cord is complex in nature, it gets tough figuring out the exact reason that caused the backache. Most often, the cause is the onset of spasmodic attacks on the back muscles. Some kind of strenuous activity, some kind of reaction to an ongoing strain, fractures, infections, or even arthritis can be the cause of a backache.

Experts strongly feel that that rather than backache being a physical problem, it is more likely that it is an expression of emotional upset. They also say that in very rare cases, patients suffer from some degenerative spinal diseases, or a prolapsed disc.

The vulnerable parts of back
It is true that certain parts of your back are more susceptible to injury/pains. It is mostly true for the lower back, since this is the part which bears the weight of one’s body. It is also more used and twisted than the rest of the body or back parts and hence undergo comparatively more wear and tear.

Back pain on the rise
Surveys have shown that a sedentary lifestyle, at both workplace and one’s home has been a major factor contributing to backache in the past few years. Resting or sitting on one place in a bad posture leads to backache. Countries like India, where people often prefer using the floor to be seated, experience less instances of backache.

Treatment
Pain killers are thought to be the most effective means of curing backaches by far. Over the counter drugs like aspirin and some basic measures followed like massage, heat therapy or physiotherapy can prove to be useful in providing relief from back pain.

How to minimize the risk of backache
Maintaining one’s posture is the most effective way to prevent a backache. One should take special care while performing some tasks like lifting a heavy object and the like.

Regular exercises can help you keep your back muscles toned and in shape. You should also ensure that your mattress is properly supporting your back while you are asleep.

More insights on backache
There are cases when one leg of a person is longer than the other, thus putting the pelvic bone mis-aligned. This leads to long term back pains. In such cases you must never fail to consult a podiatrist who will examine the case, and provide suitable measures to alleviate or curb the pain.