Back pain is very common and can make it difficult for you to do even the most basic activities. Unfortunately, It is common because it is the main symptom of a variety of health issues, ranging from minor strains to serious spinal conditions. This is one of the reasons why back pain can be so difficult to treat. Unless you get to the root of the issue, you’ll only be treating the symptom, not the cause!
Identifying the problem causing pain is instrumental in alleviating it. To do this, you’ll need to pay attention to your other symptoms and speak with a qualified professional from Posture Works in San Francisco, CA and Lakewood, CO who can help you understand the cause of the pain and its treatments. If you’re experiencing pain, here are 11 common causes and the ways you can identify them best.
- Muscle sprain: Minor injuries or overuse can sometimes put strain on the muscles and tissues in your back, causing injury. When this happens, the muscles may hurt for a few days as they heal (but generally, the pain doesn’t last long).
- Tension: Tension in your back, often caused by poor posture, stress and other lifestyle triggers, can force the muscles and tissues to become tight or fatigued, causing minor pain.
- Pinched nerve: Pinched nerves may occur when a bone spur or herniated disc presses on the nerves in or around the spine, causing numbness, tingling, or shooting pains.
- Herniated disc: A disc herniates when the fluid inside a spinal disc leaks out, causing inflammation in the surrounding nerves and tissues. This usually causes pain, numbness, or weakness.
- Bulging disc: If you have a bulging disc, the fluid inside the disc is protruding out, but has not totally herniated yet. This can cause occasional pain if the “bulge” touches a nerve root near the disc.
- Spinal fracture: If your spine has been weakened by osteoporosis or gets hit in an accident, it can fracture and result in pain.
- Spondylolisthesis: Spondylolisthesis occurs when a bone slips out of position, down over the vertebrae below it, causing pain.
- Degenerative disc disease: This condition occurs over time because the discs between your vertebrae wear down and lose their form. When this happens, the bones can start to rub together and cause pain.
- Spinal stenosis: Spinal stenosis is when the spinal canal narrows and puts pressure on the nerves running through the spine. It may lead to feelings of numbness and tingling or pain through the buttocks and legs if occurring in the lumbar spine, or in the shoulders and arms if in the thoracic spine.
- Scoliosis: Scoliosis is a deformity of the spine that causes an abnormal curvature left to right. Some cases of scoliosis are more severe than others, but it can affect posture and appearance, as well as cause some people pain.
- Fibromyalgia: Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that disrupts the way the brain processes pain signals, often over-sensitizing pain without an actual cause within the body. It may cause fatigue and emotional distress, as well as pain all over the body.
Unfortunately, the presence of pain and one or two symptoms alone cannot diagnose the root of the issue. You’ll likely need scans and examinations by a professional to uncover the cause of your pain.
The chiropractic experts in San Francisco, CA and Lakewood, CO – Posture Works may be able to help through our Chiropractic BioPhysics (CBP) techniques, which are rooted in identifying the true source of pain and rectifying it.
Chiropractic BioPhysics, or CBP, is one of the most scientific, researched, and results-oriented corrective care techniques. CBP-trained chiropractors aim to realign the spine back to health, eliminating nerve interference and addressing the source of pain, fatigue, and disease. As with all chiropractic care, CBP is gentle, painless, and non-invasive.
