Basic Facts about Back Pain

Chiropractors treat more than just back pain, but many people commonly see them for the relief of back pain only.    As a matter of  fact, 31 million Americans have some form of back pain at any given time.
 
Here are a few interesting facts about back pain:

• Low back pain is the single leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the Global Burden of Disease 2010.
• Half of working Americans admit to having back pain each year.
• Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work.  In fact, back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections.
• Most cases of back pain are not caused by serious conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, infection, fracture or cancer.
• Americans spend at least $50 billion each year on back pain—and that’s just for the more easily identified costs.
• Experts estimate that as many as 80% of the population will experience a back problem at some time in their lives.

So why do we have back pain?
There can be a variety of reasons why you can experience back pain.  As you know, your back is a complicated structure of bones, joints, ligaments and muscles. Having said that, you can injure your back by spraining ligaments, straining your muscles, rupturing a disk, or irritating your joints.  While sports injuries or accidents can cause back pain, there are also those simple movements, such as picking up something from the floor,  that can lead to a wrong twist or strain leaving you with pain. Furthermore, things like arthritis, poor posture, obesity, or stress can also cause back pain. Back pain can also directly result from disease of the internal organs, such as kidney stones, kidney infections, blood clots, etc.

Treatment
With today's growing emphasis on natural treatments and cost effectiveness, manipulation is receiving more widespread attention.  This is administered mainly by the Doctors of Chiropractic, or Chiropractors.
Chiropractic spinal manipulation is safe and effective.   Not only does it reduce pain, but it also decreases medication and helps advance physical therapy.  As stated in the America Chiropractic Association:

"In fact, after an extensive study of all currently available care for low back problems, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research—a federal government research organization—recommended that low back pain sufferers choose the most conservative care first. And it recommended spinal manipulation as the only safe and effective, drugless form of initial professional treatment for acute low back problems in adults."

Preventing Back Pain
Here are a few tips on helping you prevent back pain:

• Maintain a healthy diet and weight
• Remain active
• Avoid prolonged inactivity
• Warm up and stretch before doing sports or other physical activities
• Maintain proper posture
• Wear comfortable shoes
• Have a good mattress to sleep on
•  Lift with your knees, keep the object close to your body, and do not twist when lifting

References:
American Chiropractic Association