Soreness Vs Pain Related To A Lower Back Condition
Before we talk about whether you should work through your lower back pain, lets quickly look at the difference between soreness and pain related to a lower back condition. Minor soreness is a natural result of exercise, and it is especially prominent amongst those who are new to exercising.
Soreness is characterized by a dull, aching feelingand your back muscles may also feel tender or rigid. It is important to note that soreness from exercise typically subsides within 24 to 72 hours.
In contrast, pain related to a lower back injury is your bodys way of telling you that you are doing something wrong. This pain is typically moderate to severe, and often results in restrictions to your day-to-day functioning. So if you have to adjust your daily schedule as a result of lower back pain after exercise, this pain is likely related to a lower back condition.
Youre Just Sleeping Wrong
We sleep 1/3 of our lives away. With that much practice youd think wed all be great sleepers. Unfortunately not all of us are getting the best rest we can get.
When you climb into bed, you might initially feel comfortable, but after you drift off, your sleep position can inadvertently put unnecessary stress on your back.
But I used to sleep so well,you say Sleeping twisted up like a pretzel on a futon filled with hay and beer cans might have worked fine when you were 20. Unfortunately, as we age, the padded discs between our vertebrae wear out and we become more sensitive to our sleeping conditions. Time stinks. *sad trombone*
Your spine is best off when its straight. Its simple: unnatural bends and twists in your back can cause muscle strains and put pressure on nerves and discs. Keep your back and neck straight youll potentially eliminate your back pain.
Stomach sleeping is notorious for causing lower back pain.
In most cases stomach sleeping will cause your body to arch upwards. Hello, pain! Its a good bet that this is the root of your problem. Try acclimating to a different sleeping position. Rolling to your side will be easiest for most stomach sleepers. A dense pillow under your top arm can simulate the feeling of the mattress under your chest.
If abandoning your cherished stomach sleeping position is just not feasible, try placing a pillow under your hips so that your lower back isnt arched. Read More: Sleeping on Your Stomach: Make the Most of It!
Herniated Disk In The Lower Back
The backbone, or spine, is made up of 26 bones called vertebrae. In between the bones are soft disks filled with a jelly-like substance. These disks cushion the vertebrae and keep them in place. Although people talk about a slipped disk, nothing actually slips out of place. The outer shell of the disk ruptures, and the jelly-like substance bulges out. It may be pressing on a nerve, which is what causes the pain.A slipped disk is more likely to happen due to strain on the back, such as during heavy lifting, and older individuals are at higher risk.
Rarity: Common
Top Symptoms: lower back pain, moderate back pain, back pain that shoots down the leg, back pain that gets worse when sitting, leg weakness
Urgency: Primary care doctor
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Other Conditions That Cause Back Pain In Older Adults
We often see a range of less serious but still painful spine conditions in seniors. Most patients with these conditions will not require surgery. Physical therapy, medication, injectable anesthetics, or a combination of treatments usually can control symptoms.
- Degenerative disc disease, which can cause whole spine pain, and lumbar arthritis, which usually causes low-back pain, commonly develop with age and are considered wear-and-tear conditions.
- Sacroiliitis is an inflammation of the joints that connect your spine and pelvis. This condition can cause pain in the low back, glutes, and upper legs.
- Ankylosing spondylitis is an inflammatory arthritis that causes patients spines to become inflexible, resulting in a continual hunched forward position and spine pain.
- We also check for adult degenerative scoliosis and kyphosis, spine-curving conditions that can result in back pain and weakness in the lower extremities.
Carefully Move To A Bed Or Comfortable Flat Surface To Remain Temporarilyimmobile
That spasm that you have is a nasty but very clear warning sign that you must not continue to move. Your body is literally locking up to guard you against injuring another part of your back that is weakened or injured.
Although this locked up muscle may hurt as it tightens, it is not usually the source of the injury.
By laying down, you can help to stop triggering these muscles and can reduce the intensity and duration of the pain.
You can lie on the floor using cushions and pillows as a support and just be patient. Its better for you to focus on being somewhere calm so you can make yourself the priority.
Remember though that this is only a temporary measure as prolonged immobility could make things worse.
Did your contraction happen while reaching for, or lifting something? Did it happen just out of the blue and during a very simple activity? If so, you should follow this One Simple Rule to help reduce your chances of back spasms.
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Two Back Pain Situations You Should Take Seriously Right Away No Delay
These two back pain scenarios might be medical emergencies. They do not necessarily mean something horrible is wrong, but its extremely important to make sure.
If you are experiencing true numbness14 around the groin and buttocks and/or failure of bladder or bowel control, please consider it a serious emergency do not wait to see if it goes away. These symptoms indicate spinal cord injury or compression15 and require immediate medical attention.
And, of course, if youve had an accident with forces that may have been sufficient to fracture your spine, please seek thorough medical assessment promptly, including an X-ray to look for a fracture. You need an X-ray to ensure that your spine is not actually broken.
Isnt it rather obvious that a potential spinal fracture is an emergency?
Workouts That Can Cause Low Back Pain
Most athletic injuries to the back are sprains of the ligaments or strains of the muscles surrounding the spine. Serious conditions or complications can have similar symptoms to those of a routine sprain or strain. The most common sports injuries occur after repetitive overuse of the spine either through twisting, compression, or flexion. High impact sports such as running, football, or volleyball can often cause low back pain. Sports like golf, in which repetitive twisting is often involved, can also cause low back pain.
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Should You See A Chiropractor For Low Back Pain
If youve ever seen a doctor for back pain, youre not alone. An estimated 85% of people experience back pain severe enough to see a doctor for at some point in their life. Yet despite how common it is, the precise cause of pain is often unclear. And a single, best treatment for most low back pain is unknown. For these reasons, doctors recommendations tend to vary. “Standard care” includes a balance of rest, stretching and exercise, heat, pain relievers, and time. Some doctors also suggest trying chiropractic care. The good news is that no matter what treatment is recommended, most people with a recent onset of back pain are better within a few weeks often within a few days.
S To Take Immediately After A Back Injury
1. Engage in an Active Activity
You need to continue to your regular activities, but you may have to limit some tasks that aggravate your lower back muscles and cause pain.
Resting can cause you back to heal even slower and prolong your back pain, so make sure you do some type of activity to speed the healing process.
Walking and moving is an easy activity for anyone, so you need to continue those activities to help improve your health, but lifting and contact sports may need to be put on hold.
If you are moving and have to carry large boxes you may have to count yourself out and get the help you need to finish that activity without causing you more pain or injuring yourself even more.
The same thing with contact sports, you need to step back and support your team from the sidelines until you back is feeling better so you don’t put yourself in even more pain.
2. Ice-Heat Treatment
The rotation of ice and heat is usually a treatment that will help most people, but going it in the right ways is important for you to get the results you want.
Only use ice for the first 72 hours of your back pain. After that time period, you need to add heat to the rotation for your lower back pain.
The combination of the ice and heat allows you to reduce inflammation and loosen muscles at the same time, returning you to full health.
What!
How do carbs affect pain in your spine?
Dont worry too much back pain doesnt last too long for most injuries.
4. Call Your Doctor
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Hot Or Cold Therapy For Low Back Pain
Hot or cold packs may help ease pain and reduce symptoms. The soothing relief from heat, or the dulling relief from a cold pack, is only temporary and will not treat more serious causes of back pain. However, they may provide greater mobility for people with acute, subacute, or chronic pain, allowing them to get up and get moving.
Stop Trying Passive Treatments
Passive treatments like heat, ice or ultrasound may feel good, but their effect is usually only temporary. Most research indicates that active self-care exercise and postural correction is an effective remedy for low back pain.
A visit to your physical therapist can help determine which exercises are best for your specific condition.
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When To See A Doctor
People can often treat back pain with home remedies and some patience. However, a person should speak to a doctor about chronic or severe back pain.
A doctor may recommend physical therapy, medication, or other treatments. People who have existing health conditions or who take regular medications should speak to a doctor before trying any herbs or supplements.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration do not monitor supplements for purity or quality, so it is essential to research reputable companies first.
Stop Listening To Back Pain Horror Stories
Stop listening to other peoples horror stories. You know the scenario: You are bent over in obvious pain, waiting to see the healthcare provider, and the person next to you tells you a 10-minute tale of how their Uncle Gordon had low back pain that required injections and surgery. But the pain still didnt go away.
Stop listening to these terrible stories. Most low back pain is short-lived and can be managed quite effectively with exercise and postural correction. Of course, some low back conditions are serious and require surgery, but that is a conversation you should have with your healthcare provider, not the guy in the waiting room.
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S To Reduce Back Pain
No type of back pain should be overlooked.
Your whole body relies on the health of your back and spine so you want to make sure you treat your pain the right way the first time.
Most pain will go away quickly but if it continues for more than a week or two then you need to seek medical attention.
In this blog, we take a look at 6 important steps to take immediately after experiencing back pain.
We use our back every day to complete regular activities such as sitting up, lifting, and reaching.
Your back is in use all day long making the tendons, muscles, and ligaments in your back work hard.
That’s why the health of the muscles is very important.
These three soft tissue structures need to work synergistically for you to function without pain.
Since they are in constant motion it is common for them to tear, pull or get over-stretched.
And if you’ve ever had a back strain, you know they are nothing to joke about.
When someone says their back is sprained they mean the ligaments are overstretched or torn. Now if they say it is strained then that means a muscle or tendon was overstretched or torn.
People tend to use back strain and back sprain interchangeably but they are in fact different and because of that, the course of treatment and length of that treatment differs also.
Either injury can happen so fast and is easy to do.
Signs that you have torn, strained, or pulled a muscle in your back:
- A sore or tender lower back
- Sudden pain
What Are The Most Common Lower Back Surgery Procedures
Spine surgery is not necessary for most people who have lower back pain. If you do need it, your doctor will recommend an appropriate procedure to address your specific symptoms and medical situation. Common spine surgeries include:
Spinal Fusion. Two or more vertebrae are permanently fused together to limit excess spinal motion. Your surgeon will use a combination of bone, bonelike material, screws, plates and rods to hold the vertebrae together so they can heal into a single unit. Spinal fusion may be done to correct spinal deformities or to increase the spines stability in severe cases of spinal osteoarthritis or herniated discs.
Laminectomy and laminotomy. Laminectomy is a surgery in which your surgeon removes the back portion of one or more vertebrae to create more space for the spinal cord or other nerves. In people with severe arthritis, bone spurs within the spinal canal can grow large enough to press on the spinal cord, causing pain and limiting mobility. In a similar surgery known as laminotomy, your surgeon will remove a small piece of bone called the lamina from the back of the vertebra.
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Home Therapies To Get You Over The Hurdle
If your back pain is mild, you could try home therapies such as ice, massage, heat or over-the-counter pain medications to help you through this time. This is the route many professional athletes take when they have to deal with back pain at game time. It seems to work for them!
But home remedies are not for everyone. If you think you may have a torn ligament or a broken boneor another significant injurysee a healthcare provider. Other reasons to speak with your healthcare provider include if you have a fever, unexplained weight loss, or have experienced a traumatic event.
You Believe Your Pain Is Just In The Morning
It sounds strange, but what you have is actually present for the entire day. It is just more obvious and intense in the when you wake up. The symptoms you have dont only come and go throughout the day. Unrepaired injury, wear and inflammation which are constant, cannot appear and heal within such a short period.
What does happens throughout your day is the frequency of injury that you are knowingly and unknowingly inflicting on an already injured part of your back.
Your Numbness
Endorphins, your bodys own natural painkillers, are released along with chronic muscle fatigue to create the sensation of numbness in your lumbar area. This is what gives you the mistaken sense that your discomfort has disappeared.
You then feel that your symptoms have gone and that youre OK. But overnight, the same endorphins and any painkillers you may have taken, wear off, leaving you to feel the underlying soreness as before.
Your Swelling
To add to this, when you are active and you dont feel sore, your activity helps to keep you flexible and less tight in your back. Thats great, so the added benefit is the increase in blood flow to reduce the swelling of your inflamed joints. But, as soon as you rest or sleep, that swelling returns to plague you and hurts again.
Inflammation
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Back Exercises And Stretches
Simple back exercises and stretches can often help reduce back pain. These can be done at home as often as you need to.
For information about exercises and stretches that can help, see:
A GP may be able to provide information about back exercises if you’re unsure what to try, or you may want to consider seeing a physiotherapist for advice. Read about how to get access to physiotherapy.
Doing regular exercise alongside these stretches can also help keep your back strong and healthy. Activities such as walking, swimming, yoga and pilates are popular choices.
You May Need To See Your Doctor For These Potential Underlying Illnesses
Dont just treat a back spasm as temporary discomfort. It may not merely be muscular in nature as they are often a big warning sign.
There may be something more serious that you are not aware of. This may be what your body could be reacting to.
In cases where treatment does not help, it is possible that you may have a disc issue such and a bulge or herniated disc. It is important to know when you should see a doctor to diagnose any serious injury that may be an underlying cause.
- Herniated Disc
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How Do I Stop My Lower Back From Hurting When I Walk
The posture you have when walking matters more than you think. Walking places a tremendous amount of weight on the spine, which can affect the support structure of the rest of the body. If you experience back pain when you walk, your posture may be the underlying cause.
So how do you stop your lower back from hurting when you walk? While the overarching answer can be different depending on the individual, improvements to your gait and general posture is an excellent start.
