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Back Pain :.
Back Pain
Back Pain
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In North America, back pain, or dorsopathy is one of the most prevalent
conditions experienced by the average person. Over thirty million
Americans are suffering from some sort of back discomfort and it is thought
that in the general work force population that half of the workers will
experience of back problems during the average year. It is reported that
half of the American population over the age of 18 has had some sort of
back problems in the last five years and that between 60 and 90 % of all
Americans will have back pain at some time in their lives. Back pains
are estimated to cost the country fifty billion dollars yearly in lost
work time and incurred medical costs since nearly 40 % of all employees
sick days are caused by back pain.
Since at least 90 % of all back pain has no specific cause those
suffering from back pain will have the pain resolve on its own in no
more than four to six weeks without any medical treatment.
Treating back pain at home may consist of bed rest for 2 to 3 days with application
of hot/cold compresses and over the counter analgesics to help relieve
the pain and inflammation. After several days of rest, mild exercising
has been found to shorten the recovery period.
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Studies have shown that the most
common causes of back pain
include poor lifting technique, poor posture, improper exercising technique, poor
posture during long periods of driving, lack of proper back support
while sleeping, being out of physical shape and/or overweight and
awkward or sudden movement. Improper lifting or lifting something that
is too heavy accounts for 35 % of all back pains. These studies also
tell us that most lower back pain or lumbago is transient and only lasts a short time
with no serious damage occurring to the back. Even the more serious
condition of a pinched nerve or slipped disc is very infrequent.
There are several
medical causes of back pain
ranging from a herniated disc to a deformed vertebrae joints. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative
wear and tear on the cartilage between the back bones that leads to a
painful rubbing of bone on bone. Sciatica is an extension or a herniated
disc that causes compression or pinching of the sciatic nerve. Spinal stenosis causes a compression or pinching of the spinal cord or nerves
as a result of a narrowing of the spinal canal. When one vertebrae
slides over an adjacent one, the compression or pinching of the nerves
in the area is a condition called spondylolisthesis. When the joints
between two vertebrae become deformed and pinch a nerve, usually in the
neck area, a condition called spondylosis develops.
Back pain researchers continue to try to understand who gets back pain
and what are the best ways of
preventing back pain
from occurring. So far, they have reported that the back begins to age by the time the
average person reaches 30 years of age. One of the most important
prevention factors is that the more active a person is the less likely
they are to suffer from back pain. Another interesting fact is that
people who smoke are statistically more likely to suffer from back
problems than non-smokers. Chances are also greater if you have had a
back problem once in your life you likely will again experience back
pain. Statistics from health insurance companies tell us that if you
take off a long period of time from your job because of an injury to
your back you are not as likely to return to that job buy if you only
take a few days off, you will go back to work. Health insurance
statistics also tell us that 35 % of the claims they deal with for lost
work time are because of back pain.
As back pain research is conducted it is published in
peer reviewed journals so that the most recent findings can be used by the
medical community and the general public to help relieve the various forms of
back pain. The most
recent articles on back pain
or abstracts can be be found online at the journals website or in the hardcopy of the journals at a
medical library.
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