BACK PAIN
Back pain is pain felt in the back that may come from the spine, muscles, nerves, or other structures in the back. It may radiate from the lower, mid or upper back. The pain may be a tingling or burning sensation, a dull aching, or sharp pain. Weakness may also be felt in the legs or feet.
Back pain is one of humanity's most frequent complaints and does not always
reflect any underlying condition.
Back pain that does not improve after a few days can sometimes indicate
significant and serious conditions which might not otherwise be diagnosed. Back
pain is very rarely a sign of a serious medical problem. It is however important
that the treatable medical causes are identified early on. Typical warning signs
are bowel and/or bladder function disturbance, severe pain spreading along a
nerve (e.g. a radiculopathy - pain spreading down the back of the leg to the
outside of the foot) or severe pain occurring with other signs of severe illness
(e.g. fever, confusion).
Underlying causes
Frequently, pain will be triggered by strenuous lifting that is uncharacteristic
- that is, that follows a previous period of inactivity.
Incidence of back pain in Western countries has increased in recent years. Most
back pain is not caused by damaged intervertebral discs or any underlying
physical cause. Instead, it is thought to be linked to a relatively inactive
lifestyle, with people doing less exercise and less physical activity in their
work.
Common back problems are understandable given the evolutionary history of bipedalism, which leaves humans not quite wholly adapted to upright movement, and not at all well adapted to modern inactivity that allows muscles to become deconditioned. The amount of time spent in chairs for which human bodies aren't particularly well adapted, can also contribute to back pain.
The source of this article is Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL
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