Blog Post Title Four

WHAT ARE THE MAIN CAUSES OF BACK PAIN?

Research suggests that four in five adults will experience back pain at least once in their lifetime. The severity can range from a mild, dull ache to incessantly severe, restricting your mobility and compromising quality of life. Painkillers are often used to provide relief, but this is only a temporary solution. Only when you understand the cause of the pain can you start to effectively deal with it in a meaningful, long-lasting way.

To help you understand where your pain is coming from, this blog walks you through three highly common causes behind back pain.

Posture

Many of us spend most of the day in a sedentary position at work, and this is a major risk factor for back pain. Sitting down for a prolonged period of time stresses spinal muscles, ligaments, and disks, causing them to wear down at a faster rate compared to those who are upright during the day. This process is accelerated by a poor sitting posture. If you sit slouched forward, with your shoulders not upright, it is exceedingly likely that you will eventually experience discomfort in the neck or back.

In similar fashion, poor posture when exercising or undertaking heavy lifting can be equally harmful. Many people bend their back - rather than their knees - when lifting objects, which can lead to degenerative disc disease, herniation, bone spurs, and many other problems.

Spinal Stenosis

If you experience feelings of numbness, cramping, or weakness in the back area, it could be due to spinal stenosis - a common condition that mainly affects men and women over the age of 50. It usually occurs due to osteoarthritis, which causes a gradual degeneration of discs between the vertebrae over time, causing bones to rub against each other. That is why spinal stenosis mainly impacts individuals over the age of 50: it is a process that slowly affects the spinal cord and nearby spinal nerves, starting incrementally and getting worse for the longer it goes untreated.

Inflammation

Inflammatory back pain differs from mechanical back pain. While the latter arises from a structure within the spine, such as vertebral bodies, spinal ligaments, and so on, inflammatory back pain is a symptom complex as opposed to a condition. If your immune system is compromised in some way, inflammatory back pain can often occur. Poor gut health as a result of a poorly-functioning immune system is a common contributor to joint pain in general, particularly in the neck or back.

Every part of the spine can be affected by inflammation. This form of back pain typically starts at a younger age and takes longer to bring under control, with pain and stiffness being most prominent in mornings or after periods of inactivity.

Are you experiencing back pain? If so, our expert team can help.

To learn more about how a whole-body approach can lead to reduced back pain, complete our 2-minute Mini Assessment, to receive specialist advice today..