Of all the types of back pain that people experience, low back pain is one of the most commonly occurring. There are two different types of low back pain: acute and chronic. Acute low back pain is usually a problem that can work itself out over a period of a few weeks.
Chronic low back pain, however, can be responsible for aches and pains that last throughout your lifetime. In this article, well address the problems that are posed by acute back pain as well as chronic low back pain and well discuss some methods of getting rid of the pain.
Low back pain is one of the most commonly occurring medical conditions that merit a trip to the physicians office. Most people are affected by low back pain at some point in their life, and the condition is responsible for more sick leave than any other condition.
The causes of acute low back pain are often very different than the causes of chronic low back pain. Acute low back pain is often caused by a singular event that is easily pinpointed by the afflicted. Situations such as car accidents, heavy lifting, or falling can cause a case of acute back pain due to the trauma that the incidents place upon the tendons, ligaments, and muscles of the back.
More often than not, these cases of back pain can be solved through physical therapy and massage, and they dissipate on their own after a period of time. Also, many physicians recommend the regular usage of heat packs and ice packs in order to soothe the muscles of the back and help them to get back in proper order. In any respect, acute back pain most often disappears a few weeks after it begins.
Chronic Low Back Pain
Chronic back pain, on the other hand, is most often the result of long-term degeneration of the bones that make up the central nervous system. Several degenerative causes can be the reasons that one experiences chronic low back pain. The discs that make up the spine may become herniated causing intense chronic back pain.
These cases tend to last throughout the life of an individual, although their effects on ones health can be lessened through chiropractic work and surgery. When it comes to diagnosing a case of low back pain, and assessing its severity, doctors most often employ the use of magnetic resonance imaging in order to determine the extent of the damage. Using this method, they can best determine what is causing the back pain and what you can do to prevent the pain from occurring in the future.
There are a host of different reasons why one may be experiencing back pain, and getting magnetic resonance imaging performed is very important when it comes to pinning down the problem. The use of anti-inflammatory drugs or pain medications may be prescribed in order to keep the pain at bay. In serious cases in which the discs of the back are not set in the proper manner, back surgery may be necessary in order to correct the issue.