1. Going under the knife. In only
2% of cases where people have pain, is surgery necessary. Physiotherapists,
chiropractors and doctors can often sort out backaches. Surgery is sometimes
necessary when back pain is relentless or the patient is experiencing nerve
compression or incontinence.
2. The lowdown on pain. Most
people have lower back pain. This is because the lower back bears the weight of
the upper body. It also twists and bends more than the upper back.
3. Bending over backwards. The
spine consists of 33 bony segments, the vertebrae. The discs lie between these.
They are tough and spongy and work as shock absorbers, and give the spine
flexibility - the spine can in fact bend far enough to form two-thirds of a
circle.
4. Slipping up? If your pain
started after a trivial movement, such as picking up a book from the floor, you
could have a slipped disc or a joint problem in your spine.
5. Branching out. Nerves from the
spinal cord branch out and leave the spine through spaces between the vertebrae
at the levels of the discs.
6. Not tonight, dear. I have a
backache. Backache is second only to headaches as the most common location of
pain.
7. Sitting ducks. Many people who
often have back pain, either lead inactive sedentary lives, or have inherited a
genetic susceptibility to back pain.
8. They don't call them stones for
nothing. Severe intermittent pain that goes down to your groin, could indicate
that you have kidney stones.
9. Not such good vibrations. Vibration
often causes back problems, which is why truck drivers often have backache.
10. You've got lots of company. In
any two-week period of time, between 25 - 33% of all adults get some form of back
pain.
11. Tilt that angle. Cyclists
often experience pain, which can often be rectified by adjusting the angle of
the bicycle seat.
12. Down on all fours. Back pain
became a part of life when humans started walking upright, rather than on all
fours. The vertebrae were never really designed to deal with walking upright.
13. Right down the middle. Pain in
the middle of your back, which becomes worse after eating, could indicate a
stomach ulcer.
14. The center of it all. The
spine, for all intents and purposes, is like central scaffolding for the rest
of the body. The skull, the ribs, the pelvis and the limbs are attached to it.
15. So why does this happen? In
about 85% of acute pain cases, the exact cause cannot be identified.
16. Neighboring organs
problematic? Pain can also be the result of abscesses, blood clots or tumours
in other organs near the spine.
17. Try this for strength. The
spine is so strong that it can withstand the pressure of hundreds of kilograms.
18. All on its own. Eighty to 90%
of back pain treatments resolve itself within a month to six weeks.
19. Help or hindrance? Prolonged
use of back braces and supports can actually weaken the muscles in your back,
thereby contributing to the problem.
