Back pain is likely to affect us all at some point in our lives and one of the most common complaints we see here at MERN Chiropractic.
The most common conditions for back pain are:
- Vertebra (spinal bones)
- Spinal Discs
- Spinal Nerves
- Soft Tissue (muscles)
These are all considered and examined when a patient presents with back pain to us.
Chronic Back Pain
It is common for chronic back pain to gradually develop and progress over time without a specific known onset.
Usually over time small micro traumas exposes us to prolonged stresses which accumulate over time.
Most common reasons for this includes:
- The way you sleep and the condition where you sleep – not only of your mattress, but also your bed base.
- The way you stand and hold yourself in certain positions.
- Repetitive lifting, carrying or prolonged driving.
- Poor sitting position – both at work or home.
- Age and Lifestyle
Over time, the outcome is overloading of the spinal tissues leading to dysfunction, fatigue and pain.
Acute Back Pain
We often hear phrases such as “All I did was bend forward to put my shoes on…”
Unless you have had a known trauma onto your low back, it is unlikely that your back has developed severe sudden pain from just bending forward.
Often you may feel a slight pain at a specific time or incident, but did not feel too bad at the time. Fast forward a few hours after this initial event, when both inflammation and muscle spasms have begun to occur and the pain becomes more severe.
The most likely reason is that over time micro trauma has been occuring in your lower back to where it can no longer endure the strain.
Pain is often the last thing to present itself, and the first thing to go, but the reasons why you have pain may have been building for months or even years.