“Oh, my aching back!”

How many times have you heard a co-worker, friend, or family member complain about an aching back? How many times have you suffered the same anguish? According to physical therapist Robert Maroon, PT, back pain is taking a serious toll on the US population. Studies show that $50 billion dollars a year is spent on treating low back pain; and 80 percent of Americans will experience low back pain at some point in their life.

Most commonly, back pain is experienced close to the spinal column, either centrally or off to one side. In some cases pain may travel into the arms or legs, and may be accompanied by muscle weakness, loss of sensation and/or “pins and needles.” Spine pain can radiate from various locations including the intevertebral discs, spinal ligaments, nerves, muscles, facet joints, or any other component of the intricately entwined spinal column.

Spinal Pain Culprits

Generally, most back pain is mechanical in nature, meaning the pain is caused by a stress to the joint system. This can be caused by:

• Abnormal stress on normal structures – car accidents, sports injuries

• Normal stress on abnormal structures – walking with arthritic joints, osteoporadic bones • Abnormal stress on abnormal structures – arthritic joints impacted by a car accident

Spinal pain can be caused by a trauma such as a fall or by a simple task like bending over to tie shoelaces. Posture is also a major contributing factor to spinal pain, especially for people in sedentary occupations (e.g. secretarial work, truck drivers, accountants, etc.). In conjunction with postural deficits, many people have a strength imbalance in the major muscle groups, leading to increased loading on the spine.

Back pain also has a recurring nature. Occurrences do sometimes resolve on their own without medical intervention, but just because the pain recedes, it doesn’t mean the problem – the underlying factor(s) that caused the low back pain episode – has been resolved. If the problem is accurately diagnosed, treated, and resolved, the chance of reoccurrence is greatly reduced. This is where a physical therapist can make the difference.

Treat the Disorder – Not Just the Symptoms

Taking an over-the-counter pain reducer may seem to be an adequate solution to back pain, but it merely masks the pain, it does not treat the disorder. Physical therapists treat the underlying causes of pain. They are specifically trained in the prevention and treatment of musculo-skeletal disorders of the body through manual techniques, exercise programs, and the use of various therapy methods used in the rehabilitation of people with injuries. Physical therapists are experts in returning people to normal activities following injuries.

 in Fact Sheets
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