Major Elements Of Back Pain

Why does your back hurt? If you're trying to find out what types of things contribute to generalized back pain, take a look at this list to see whether you suffer from one or more of these impacts on your overall health.

When people go to a chiropractor or other doctor with back pain, that medical professional has to look at a wide variety of factors to figure out why the symptoms are occurring. Here are some of the general categories that doctors may ask you about in an office consultation.

Traumatic Impact

Traumatic impact is a major source of back pain. Any time someone gets in an accident or suffers some kind of physical impact, it can shift some of those delicate and fragile bones in the spine. In some cases, this damage is obvious -- after the accident, the person experiences dramatic symptoms. But just as often, and maybe even more often, the symptoms are very subtle and may develop weeks or months after the actual impact. That's why this is something that doctors often won't know about, and patients will have to provide information about it.

Aging

As we age, our bodies slowly deteriorate, (which is not something you want to hear about in the doctor's office or anywhere else). Some kinds of back pain are partly or mostly due to the natural aging process, where bone and cartilage shifts or becomes weaker over time.

Posture and Balance

This is a big category of spinal damage that doctors often have to educate patients about. You may not have any traumatic impact, and have a young spine, and you can still experience a lot of back pain.

Doctors often have to go over a checklist to talk about whether the person has any poor posture habits that may lead to significant back pain. One easy and common example is the "back pocket wallet syndrome." Men who carry their wallet in the back pocket of their pants have a natural imbalance that, over time, can cause serious damage to the spine, especially depending on how much paper or plastic they carry in the wallet question. Learn more about piriformis syndrome or "fat wallet syndrome" at Answers.com.

This is just one example of poor posture problems that could contribute to back pain over time.

Inactivity

Lack of exercise can also contribute to back pain, as the core muscles that support the spine get weaker. That makes it harder for them to protect the spinal column as a person does all sorts of activities that may strain or put pressure on the spine.

In fact, repetitive strain and pressure is another major category of risk. It's something that people may not notice, but that will contribute to spinal problems in the long run.

For more information, contact Southwest Florida Neurosurgical Associates or a similar organization.