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Posts Tagged ‘chronic back pain’

Low back pain is a common disorder affecting millions of individuals annually. It is a common musculoskeletal disorder that affects the lumbar segment of the spine, which is the lowest part of the back just above your buttocks. It is one of the most common causes of missing work, and can affect anyone of any age, race, or sex. It is one of the top 10 reasons patients seek care from a doctor.

Low back pain is typically classified as either acute or chronic. Low back pain is often accompanied by stiffness and difficulty with normal movement, muscle spasms, and pain that becomes worse with any type of straining. If it is particularly bad it may cause pain down the back of your leg, which is called sciatica.

Chronic Back Pain

Chronic low-back pain is a very common problem for which there is currently no universally effective treatment. Chronic back pain is generally defined as pain that persists for more than three months. Chronic pain is much less common than acute pain. It usually has an insidious onset, occurring over a long period of time. It can also occur in people whose work involves heavy lifting, bending, and long periods of standing on a daily basis. It also may originate from an injury, disease or stresses on different structures of the body such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, degeneration of the discs between the vertebrae, or a spinal disc herniation, a vertebral fracture (caused by osteoporosis), or rarely, a tumor (including cancer) or infection. Chronic low back pain can be shooting, stabbing or localised in nature. It can also be referred from another part of the body.

Acute Back Pain

Acute pain is the most common type of back pain. Acute back pain is short term, generally lasting from a few days to a few weeks. Acute pain comes on quickly and often leaves just as quickly. The commonest reasons for acute lower back pain are damaged muscles, ligaments and tendons in the lower back. Acute back pain can also be caused by kidney stones, pelvic inflammation and even some bowel conditions like constipation, inflammatory bowel disease or diverticulitis may have some back pain associated with it. These are much less common.

Back Pain Symptoms

Symptoms of low back pain depend upon the cause of the pain. Damage to muscles and ligaments causes pain, back muscle spasm, pain on walking, difficulty twisting, stiffness and sometimes pain worse on one side rather than the other.
Pain caused by nerve irritation often also causes sciatica. Sciatica is pain down the leg or legs caused by irritation to the sciatic nerve in your back. It is often caused by disc problems, arthritis and severe muscle damage and spasm.

Treatment

Treatment for back pain generally depends on what kind of pain you experience: acute or chronic. Treatment options range from basic rest but only for 24 hours, ice or heat and gradually resuming activity to medication, exercise, physical therapy and acupuncture. Using trans-cutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS ) with both acute and chronic pain can speed recovery and reduce pain. Acupuncture like TENS is excellent for treating muscle spasms and the trigger points often found in back muscles.

Treatments for chronic back pain can vary greatly depending on the type and source of the pain. Many sufferers find TENS a great help in reducing symptoms. If the problems persist an operation is often required to relieve the pressure on the disc and reduce nerve irritation.

Exercises

Having used TENS to reduce pain exercises that increase balance and strength can decrease your risk of further back pain. Exercises such as Tai Chi, yoga or any weight-bearing exercise that challenges your balance are good ones to try. String back and abdominal muscles can lessen pain. Exercises to reduce low back pain are not complicated and can be done at home without any special equipment.

Author: Andy Duncan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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There are many ways that chronic pain can occur. Some of these are due to an injury, or maybe an illness and some are due to age. Chronic pain can affect many parts of the body, but in most cases the back is what is affected. Chronic back pain relief is a must to find, because if it is not corrected, it can effect all parts of your life. You can be affected emotionally and depression can even set in. There is good news, because there are many ways to find chronic pain relief. There is a bit of trial and error to find the correct pain relief. You and your doctor and other health professionals can partner to keep chronic pain from destroying your life.

What You Should Do First

The first thing that you must do is contact your doctor. The doctor can determine where and why the chronic pain is occurring. Finding the cause of the pain is the first step in chronic pain relief.

Chronic Pain Relief – Using Medications

Sometimes the first option for chronic pain relief is treating it with medications. There are many different types of medications that can be used. Over the counter drugs such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen are effective when the pain flares up.The next step after this would be to try using prescription drugs. These medications include antidepressants, corticosteroids and muscle relaxants. These drugs will work sometimes in the short term for bringing chronic back pain relief under control, but there are serious side effects if they are used for long periods of time for chronic pain relief. Due to these side effects, it is a good idea to find other methods of pain relief wile reducing the frequency of the prescription drugs.

Chronic Pain Relief – Other Options

Rest is probably the first thing that you should do for a day or two after an injury. After this, physical activity is thought as a good chronic pain relief. Exercise will increase your flexibility and strength and improve muscle tone. Exercise is an important part of having a healthy life style long term and will bring pain relief. If you decide that you are going to start a physical exercise program to relieve chronic pain, make sure you consult your doctor. He may have you work with a physical therapist or maybe a personal trainer. Many people today are using physical trainers to guide them to the right exercises to relieve chronic pain. This will also prevent you from further injuring yourself.You can also employ some natural methods for chronic pain relief. These could be herbal treatments for relief of pain. Herbal relief from pain can be quite effective. There is also acupuncture for pain relief as well as massage therapy. Acupuncture for pain relief has been used effectively for many years. If you have never tried acupuncture for pain relief, maybe you should. After an injury that has caused chronic pain, your doctor may have you start physical therapy to bring strength and condition the injured area. Another natural pain relief method that you can do at home is hot and cold therapy. These can be an effective chronic pain relief treatment. What you do is switch between cold (ice) and then use hot packs to the affected area. These can be extremely effective method to relieve pain. Some people find that aromatherapy and biofeedback techniques help them to relax there muscle. These techniques also allow you to release tension. Both are effective at chronic pain relief. As you can see there are a variety of methods for chronic pain relief. Try each one to determine which will work best for you.For more information on this type of pain and others visit: Acupuncture for Pain Relief

Author: Steve Madigan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Your back hurts. It hurts a lot. You ask, What are the exercises to stop the back pain now? or you plead, Give me information on back pain exercise!

Surprisingly, too much rest during an encounter of back pain will often make the condition worse. A day or two of rest should be followed by specific back pain exercise for complete recovery.

How Can Exercise Stop Back Pain?

Careful, thoughtful back pain exercise will help distribute nutrients up and down your spinal column, feeding your muscles, ligaments, nerves, and joints. Specific back pain exercise will stretch you back, making it supple. Other back pain exercise will strengthen your back, and make it strong. Weakness and stiffness, increased by rest, can be overcome by back pain exercise.

Exercises to stop the back pain now will also prevent future back pain, since you will be increasing your backs ability to handle extra stress or injury.

CHOOSE EXERCISE, NOT REST, TO STOP BACK PAIN NOW

Before you begin back pain exercise, check with your health care provider. Not every back pain exercise will be right for you. If your injury is sever, a spine care specialist will recommend specific exercise techniques to meet your need. Your back pain exercise program should work the entire body, even though your primary target is the back.

What Are the Exercises to Stop Back Pain Now?

Once you decide that back pain exercise is essential, you will want to choose appropriate exercises. We recommend a doctors advice, and suggest that you show your doctor these possibilities.

1. Back Pain Exercises Stretching

Stretching muscles, ligaments and tendons is essential for back health. Whether or not you are currently experiencing back pain, regular stretching of the back will give strength to overcome or prevent injury and trauma to the back. If yours is chronic back pain, plan on regular, daily stretching for as much as six months to give your back the flexibility and strength it needs. You may want to schedule more than one stretching session per day, but work carefully. Eventually, you will find that back pain exercise keeps back pain from recurring.

Set goals (expectations with due dates) for each muscle group. Decide a date by which you want each of these muscle groups to be strong. Write down each date, and determine to meet it.

Warm Up First for Safe, Efficient Back Pain Exercise!!
If there is any pain, stop or take it more slowly.
Cool down after your back pain exercise.

* Gluteus muscles. The muscles in your buttocks support flexibility in your hips as well as your pelvis. Back pain exercise should include these muscles daily.

The gluteus stretch. Sit in a straight back or folding chair. Move your bottom only forward several inches from the chair back. In that position, lightly press your feet against the floor. Now squeeze your gluteus muscles together, and hold for 5 minutes. This stretch allows you to get back pain exercise while watching TV.

* Hamstrings. Located in the back of each leg, your hamstrings help give you correct posture.

The hamstring stretch. Place one foot on a chair, keeping the other leg straight. Bend over until your chest touches the knee of the foot on the chair. Keep your chest on the elevated leg as you slowly back the other leg away from the chair. Hold your stretch for 20 to 30 seconds. This stretch gives good back pain exercise without equipment.

* Piriformis. The piriformis syndrome is caused by the piriformis muscle irritating the sciatic nerve. You feel pain in the buttocks, and referred pain from the back of your thigh to the base of the spine. Many people call this lower back pain “sciatica”.

The piriformis stretch. Lie on your back, right hip and knee flexed. Grasp your right knee with your left hand, and pull the knee towards your left shoulder. In this position, grasp just above the right ankle with the right hand, and rotate the ankle outwards. Repeat with your left side. You might want to do this back pain exercise with gentle music.

* Psoas Major. Lower back mobility can be greatly limited by a tight Psoas Major. This muscle often causes back pain that makes it difficult to kneel on both knees, or to stand for extended periods.

The Psoas Major stretch. Kneel on your right knee, left foot flat on the floor, left knee bent. Rotate the right leg outward. Place your hand on the right gluteus muscle and tighten the muscle. Lean forward through your hip, careful not to bend the lower spine. You should feel the stretch in the front of your right hip. Hold for about 30 seconds. Repeat with your left leg. If you have young children, include them in your back pain exercise.

2. Back Pain Exercises Strengthening

Back pain can be stopped now, and greatly avoided in the future, by decreasing lower back stress. These exercises develop critical muscles in the abdomen, lower back, and gluteus. Both of these back pain exercises are learned better when working with a trained physical therapist, but if you are careful, you can learn them alone. Although you may do daily stretching back pain exercises, it is important to take a few days off each week from strengthening back pain exercises.

Lower Back strengthening. Begin by lying flat on your back on the floor. Do not push your back down on the floor. Bend both knees. Pull your navel (belly button) in toward your back while keeping your back relaxed. As you breathe out, stretch your arms upward as though you are reaching for an overhead chandelier. Gradually raise head and shoulders from the floor until your shoulder blades are barely touching the floor. Hold the position one to two seconds. Repeat 8 to 12 times. If you feel pain with this back pain exercise, stop or try to do it more gently and slowly.

3. Back and Leg strengthening. This is one of the McKenzie Exercises, named after a New Zealand physical therapist. Lie on your stomach, and push up off the floor with both hands, raising only your chest. Keep your pelvis flat on the floor. Raise your back to a comfortable stretch and hold for 8 to 10 seconds. Repeat 8 to 12 times. You should feel no pain with this back pain exercise, only a pulling up of the spine.

It is strongly suggested that any back pain exercise be done only after seeking professional medical advice.

Author: Anna Hart
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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