What Causes Back Pain – Understanding Why It Happens

Many people suffer from back pain which can be induced by many different factors. Sometimes back pain is caused by a single incident, such as an injury. Sometimes it is a symptom of an illness that you have. Although you may not be aware of what you are doing consciously, certain activities can actually cause back pain as well. Simple things that we do can actually be inappropriate for our spine, causing our back to hurt due to the strain that we are placing upon it.

The cause of back pain is not always a mystery. If you lifted or moved anything heavy prior to your back injury, it is easy to identify what happened to you. But if you really don’t know why your back is hurting, it may be necessary to get professional help. When you go to the doctor, they will have you do certain tests that will determine why you are suffering. To find out what is wrong, CT scans may be taken. These are a series of x-rays taken at different angles. To help eliminate any guesswork, your doctor may prescribe an MRI scan to find out exactly what is wrong. If you have suffered from a spinal fracture, this could be the reason for your back pain. This is not unusual. Osteoporosis – a reduction of your bone mass – weakens your bones and can lead to spinal fractures. Women are particularly prone to this, but both men and women are at risk for this as they age. As the bones get weaker, it becomes much easier for them to become damaged. An injury can cause the bones to collapse, which can be very painful and can even cause deformation of the spine. There are medications you can take for the pain; nevertheless, this won’t solve the underlying problem. Your doctor may recommend surgery to keep the fractured bones from slipping further out of place. There is evidence that regular exercise and a healthy diet can reduce the severity of osteoporosis and help prevent spinal fractures.

Pregnant women are often susceptible to lower back pain because of the increased pressure caused by the unborn infant. Your vertebrae in your spine can also feel discomfort based upon the hormones released during pregnancy. There are many exercises that you can do that can help you relieve back pain that you may be suffering from. These exercises can be learned from your medical doctor or from a professional that offers courses that specifically teach these exercises. By exercising regularly, you can help avert or lessen the pain that you may be feeling that is a direct result of your pregnancy and unborn child.

There are many contributing factors to why people get back pain, what causes it, and how they can get rid of it. For example, it can be caused by being too sedentary or by exercising too vigorously. You might even want to consider the type of shoes you’re wearing and the mattress that you sleep on as being a contributing factor. The best thing to do is try to identify what may be causing your back pain, and to stop doing whatever activity that may be doing so that the discomfort will dissipate.