How Long Does Lower Back Pain Usually Last
Lower back pain can be categorized as acute, subacute or chronic. Acute episodes of lower back pain usually last from a few days to 4 weeks and subacute lower back pain lasts between 4 to 12 weeks. However, according to the National Institutes of Health, about 20 percent of people with acute back pain go on to develop chronic back paindefined as pain that lasts 12 weeks or longer. Even in these cases, there are many different treatment options to help relieve lower back pain symptoms.
When your back is really killing you, you might worry something is seriously wrong. The same goes for back pain that seems unending. The good news is that while back pain is a major inconvenience, it is rarely an urgent medical issue. In fact, most of the time you dont have to treat it. Back pain usually resolves on its own unless you have a major underlying issue.
Keep All Important Things Within Reach
In a bid to ensure you are not consistently slouching, begin your day by pulling all essential office equipment closer to you. Your mouse and keyboard are a few devices you want to ensure are in close proximity. This will significantly reduce the number of times youll be overstretching to have them nearer.
Why Does My Lower Back Hurt When I Stand Too Long
While there are many underlying reasons for back pain during prolonged standing, the precipitating cause is usually postural. When you stand for a length of time, your pelvis is often pushed backward, increasing the curve of your lower back . This puts increased pressure on the soft tissues surrounding the spine, causing your lower back muscles to tighten or even spasm, resulting in pain in the joints and nerves of your spine.
At Long Island Spine Rehabilitation Medicine, we have a strong track record of diagnosing the causes of back pain accurately and treating them successfully without surgery. Our pain management doctors help patients feel more comfortable and move more easily whether their back pain is due to injury, aging, congenital malformations, or a disease condition. If you experience pain when standing or walking, we can evaluate your problem and offer you a variety of treatment options.
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Stretch & Mobilise Your Body
I’ve already gone over this one briefly in the microbreaks section.
But it’s so important that I think it deserves it’s own section.
Because regularly stretching your body is one of the best things you can do to prevent and reduce your back pain.
Especially when you have to stand for long periods.
Because when you’re standing in the same position for so long your muscles can shorten and weaken, which makes them tight and sore.
And this can cause you many problems such muscle imbalances and developing a poor posture which puts your back under increasing strain.
However, if you stretch your body out at regular intervals throughout the day your muscles become lengthened and strengthened instead.
Which is great for your back as it gives you:
- Increased flexibility throughout your body.
- A greater range of movement.
- An improved posture.
- Increased circulation.
- And a lower chance of picking up muscle strains and injuries on the job.
All of which will help to reduce the strain on your back as you stand and get rid of any back pain you are feeling.
Just make sure you stretch out your whole body and not just your lower back area when you do this.
As your body is all part of a connected whole and this will prevent any muscle imbalances from developing.
I’ve included the video above from Fitness Blender to give you some ideas of what kinds of stretches you can do.
How To Get Out Of Bed
To get out of bed safely:
Alternatively:
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What Are Some Complementary Alternative And Emerging Treatments For Lower Back Pain
In some cases, doctors suggest therapies that are not considered standard of care. They probably wont be covered by insurance, but they may be worth considering. Examples include:
Platelet-rich plasma . PRP treatments use a small sample of your own blood that has concentrated amounts of blood building blocks known as platelets. Your doctor then injects the PRP directly into a damaged disc. The theory is that PRP injections use your own healing system to accelerate improvement of injured tendons, ligaments, muscles, and joints. PRP treatment has a longer track record in knee osteoarthritis, but a recent review article in the Journal of Spine Surgery suggests it may have a useful role for back pain, too. PRP needs a lot more research before it can be considered a proven technique.
Stem cells. In this emerging treatment, your doctor injects stem cells harvested from your hip into the intervertebral disc or discs causing your pain. Doing so may lessen pain and the degenerative effects of aging, though, like PRP, more research is needed before stem cells for lower back pain could eventually become the standard of care.
Acupuncture. Your doctor probably doesnt perform acupuncture , but may support you trying it as a complementary therapy. Acupuncture involves careful insertion of fine, sterile needles into specific points on your body. This may stimulate the release of your natural pain-killing chemicals.
Back Ache Culprit: Your Exercise
Overdoing it at the fitness center or fairway is simply among one of the most typical reasons for overextended muscle mass causing low back ache. If you have a tendency to be inactive during the work week as well as after that spend humans resources at the health club or softball field on the weekend break, youre especially at danger.
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Signs Your Back Pain Might Be An Emergency
In our 20s and 30s, normal back pain often can be attributed to factors of daily life, such as sitting too long, picking up children, or overdoing it while exercising.
In our 40s and older, work injuries and the beginnings of arthritis and degenerative conditions are more common.
Back pain is so common, in fact, that many patients shrug off symptoms that might indicate a medical emergency.
Approximately 80% of adults will experience back pain in their lives, so its important to be able to identify the severity of your symptoms and track how long the pain lasts.
If back pain can be associated with a specific activity, such as lifting or twisting wrong, and the pain goes away within 72 hours after resting and applying ice, its usually nothing to worry about. However, if pain creeps on gradually, appears suddenly, or doesn’t go away, you might have a more serious condition.
Always Keep Your Back At The Right Angle
Did you know that slouching is arguably the worst enemy of your lower back pain? It is highly recommended that you keep your back at a ninety-degree angle at all times. Adjust the back of your chair to about ten degrees further back to maintain this particular posture. Always have both your upper and lower back supported. Sit upright and have your shoulders relaxed and supported by the back of your chair.
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How To Get Into Bed
To get into bed safely:
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.
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More Advanced Care Options
Surgery When other therapies fail, surgery may be considered to relieve pain caused by worsening nerve damage, serious musculoskeletal injuries, or nerve compression. Specific surgeries are selected for specific conditions/indications. However, surgery is not always successful. It may be months following surgery before the person is fully healed and there may be permanent loss of flexibility. Surgical options include:
Implanted nerve stimulators
- Spinal cord stimulation uses low-voltage electrical impulses from a small implanted device that is connected to a wire that runs along the spinal cord. The impulses are designed to block pain signals that are normally sent to the brain.
- Dorsal root ganglion stimulation also involves electrical signals sent along a wire connected to a small device that is implanted into the lower back. It specifically targets the nerve fibers that transmit pain signals. The impulses are designed to replace pain signals with a less painful numbing or tingling sensation.
- Peripheral nerve stimulation also uses a small implanted device and an electrode to generate and send electrical pulses that create a tingling sensation to provide pain relief.
Pointers For Maintaining Ones
Workout often to keep muscular tissues flexible and solid. Get in touch with a doctor for a checklist of low-impact, age-appropriate workouts that are especially targeted to enhancing lower back as well as additionally stomach muscles.
Maintain a healthy and well balanced weight and also eat a healthy diet with sufficient day-to-day intake of calcium, phosphorus, as well as vitamin D to promote new bone growth.
Usage ergonomically developed furnishings as well as devices in your home as well as at the office. Make certain task surfaces go to a comfortable height.
Change resting settings normally in addition to occasionally walk the work environment or very carefully stretch muscles to remove stress and anxiety.
A pillow or rolled-up towel placed behind the small of the back can give some back support. When resting for a really long time, place your feet on a decreased stool or a pile of magazines.
Sleeping on ones side with the knees developed in a fetal positioning can assist open up the joints in the spinal column as well as additionally get rid of tension by lessening the curvature of the spine. Regularly sleep on a business surface area.
Dont attempt to lift things that are also substantial. Lift from the knees, draw the stomach muscles in, as well as likewise maintain the head down and according to a straight back. When training, maintain items close to the body. When lifting, do not transform.
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% Of People Will Experience Back Pain At Some Time But There Are Ways To Find Relief
As people enter middle age, they are more likely to experience bouts of low back pain. In fact, according to the Harvard Special Health Report Men’s Health: Fifty and Forward, back pain affects about four in five Americans at some point in their lives and equally strikes men and women.
Age is often the culprit. Over time, the bones and joints in your lower back begin to change. Your discs tend to wear out and sometimes become fragmented. These structural alterations sometimes cause pain.
Another cause of low back pain, although it occurs less often, is a herniated disc. Sometimes, a disc pushes outside the space between the bones and compresses a nerve at the point where it branches off the spinal cord. When the sciatic nerve that leads into the buttocks and leg is affected, the pain is called sciatica.
Yet, most cases of low back pain stem from strain or sprain due to simple overuse, unaccustomed activity, excessive lifting, or an accident. In most cases the best move is to wait and see if the pain resolves on its own. If the pain does not improve after three to four days, then it’s time to see a doctor.
However, depending on the source of your back pain and its severity, you might try a few home remedies for low back pain to help ease the pain until your back returns to normal. Here are several options to consider:
Complementary therapies. Several types of complementary therapy may be helpful for relief from low back pain. These include:
Lower Back Pain During Pregnancy
Backaches or unable to stand up straight due to lower back pain during pregnancy, especially in the early period, are very common. The ligaments in your body gradually get softer through pregnancy and stretch to brace you for labor. This will put pressure on the lower back and pelvis joints, which can cause back pain.
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Strengthen Your Core Muscles Daily
Strong and supportive muscles throughout the trunk of your body are essential to support your spine. Core-building exercises include:
- Low-impact cardiovascular exercise, such as normal or brisk walking, which helps increase blood flow to the spine and stretch your muscles. An adequate flow of blood supplies healing nutrients and hydration to the structures in your lower back.1,2
- Water therapy, which provides a greater range of motion due to the buoyancy of water, particularly for exercises that require lifting the legs. Water also provides resistance by means of gentle friction, allowing the strengthening and conditioning of an injured muscle.3Water therapy is optimal for people who have chronic back pain and find it too painful to exercise without the supportive effect of water.
- Exercise ball workouts, such as sitting on the ball intermittently for about 20 to 30 minutes and/or using the ball for stretches and exercises that engage your core muscles.4
If exercise seems difficult or impossible to you, make small goals to slowly get yourself moving, such as going up and down your stairs 3 times in a row or walking in a park with a friend.
Consider engaging a physical therapist or other qualified health practitioners to help you get started and provide correct guidance on how to safely exercise.
Read more about Physical Therapy for Low Back Pain Relief
Is A Standing Desk Right For You
Although a standing desk might improve backpain, its likely not a cure-all. For example, a standing desk might helpimprove your posture and take the pressure off your neck and lower back however,its not enough to correct more serious problems, such as scoliosis or a bulging disc.
And some health conditions actually can arisefrom standing too much. Patients at risk for heart or vascular conditions mightdevelop deep vein thrombosis or varicose veins from spending too much time ontheir feet. Other issues might include back pain caused by poor posture, leg orfoot pain, or swelling in the legs.
Alsoconsider the type of work you do before choosing a standing desk. Some peoplefind it easier to concentrate when they can stand and shift their weight backand forth while taking phone calls or typing. However, some peoples brainsarent wired that way, and they have a hard time performing creative tasks suchas writing or designing while standing.
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Nonsurgical Treatments To Help You Stand Straighter And Longer Without Pain
The talented team of professionals at Long Island Spine Rehabilitation Medicine can design a treatment program especially for you that may include one or more of the following injection approaches or interventions. It should be noted that very often such pain complaints can be successfully treated without any type of injection procedure as the judicious use of medications and a personalized physical rehabilitation program may well suffice:
- Spinal epidural injections administered under fluoroscopic guidance to target the site of your pain
- Facet joint injections to address painful joints of the spine for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes and possibly radiofrequency denervation to address the nerves which carry pain signals from the painful segments
- Acupuncture in which tiny needles are inserted painlessly into the skin to increase energy flow and release endorphins that act as natural painkillers
- PEMF technology that uses varying frequencies of electromagnetic waves to diminish or eliminate back pain and accelerate healing
One of our experienced physiatrists can diagnose the cause of your pain precisely and prescribe a physical therapy program that will strengthen your back without doing you any harm. He or she can also provide a broad range of treatment options that may help to resolve your lower back issues so that you can once again enjoy socializing at parties or social events without being the person who always has to sit down.
Keep Yourself Updated About Your Spine
The spine is a vertebral column created by a 24-vertebrae stack that is open in the middle, forming a spinal cord channel or canal. There are gel-filled, fibrous-ringed disks padding the gaps between the vertebrae, absorbing the weight we place on the spinenerves in every vertebral space run from the spinal cord.
When a disc or bone impinges on a nerve as it exits the spinal cord, most usually between the 4th and 5th lumbar vertebrae, you get lower back pain which radiates into the leg.
A ruptured disc is commonly induced in individuals between the ages of 30 and 60 spinal stenosis is more likely to be the cause in people over 60. The strain is exerted on the nerves by a decrease in the size of the spinal canal, mostly due to overgrown tissue.
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