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Back Pain: What Are The Types And Causes?

Back pain impacts eighty percent of Americans and is the most common ailment as people mostly depend on their back for almost every move they make. As a result, it is vulnerable to damage. This issue commonly causes people to miss their important work. Walk-in pain center if the back pain is chronic. 

Type of back pain: 

Usually, back pain is a symptom of an underlying disorder. There are mainly two types of back pain including acute and chronic. Acute back pain may arise suddenly due to an injury. It is the most common type of back pain. It can be fixed in less than one month.

Chronic back pain is a quick or slow onset condition but it stays for long periods of time. It is the least common type of pain. Discuss your condition with a pain management doctor to get the correct treatment. 

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What Causes Back Pain? 

Before knowing the causes of back pain, it is important you understand the spine. The back is built with thirty vertebrae or bones. It is distributed into five groups including Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar, Sacrum, and Coccyx. The upper and lower neck, known as the cervical spine comprises seven vertebrae. The middle back known as thoracic consists of twelve and the lower back referred to as the lumbar spine has five fused vertebrae and the coccyx i.s tailbone has four vertebrae combined together.  Consult a back pain doctor to discuss your problem. 

The vertebral column is supported together by the ligaments and muscles with discs between the vertebrae. The discs are saturated with a jelly-like substance that lets them act as a shock absorber. The vertebral column is joined together to offer stability and support. Moreover, they protect the spinal cord and nerves that expand through the spinal canal.  

Since the nervous system is complex, it is hard to point out the actual cause of back pain. The back pain causes are divided into categories that include Mechanical, Injuries, Acquired disorders or diseases, Infections, or tumors.  

Mechanical causes:  

These problems are caused by the mechanism of the spine like Spondylolisthesis.

It is a form of spinal ailment leading to lower back pain. It occurs when one of the bones of the spine and vertebrae is dislocated from its original palace. Most patients can get rid of this condition with nonsurgical treatment, if the condition is severe, surgery is successful in most cases. Other mechanical obstacles are fractures, herniated discs, spinal stenosis, spinal degeneration, and sciatica. 

Injuries: 

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This involves common forms of back pain due to damage to the spine or the ligaments and muscles connected to the spine. A sprain is an example of such a type of category. A sprain is caused when the ligament that holds the spine is torn or pulled due to improper lifting or twisting the body mechanics in the wrong way.  Moreover, if people have fractured bones from osteoarthritis causing bones to become brittle and weak. Serious injuries may originate from an accident or fall. 

Acquired disorders: 

These are medical issues that might have been caused in some people since their birth, for example, scoliosis(abnormal curvature of the spine). In addition, you may have arthritis due to genetic causes that may lead to fractures. Such types of conditions require back pain treatment. 

Infection/Tumors: 

Infection or tumors also can cause pain if it includes the vertebrae. Two main examples are Osteomyelitis(infection and swelling of the vertebrae) and Discitis(infection in the discs). Tumors, although rarely cause back pain. These can be favorable to cancer or destructive but usually result from a tumor that has increased from another area of the body. 

If you are experiencing any one of the causes, get back treatment