Back pain symptoms

Many people who suffer from back pain. In Italy it comes to more than 15 million individuals. According to recent statistics, back pain is the leading cause of absenteeism and the second permanent disability. Although it appears that only 50% of those experiencing this disorder is directed to a doctor.

Back pain as a symptom of bone disease

It ‘better to say straight away that it is rare for back pain is due to injury or serious illness of the bones. In any case, we point out certain diseases:

• Arthrosis
  This term refers to a type of evolutionary joint pain (that tends to get worse) is characterized by wear of joint cartilage that leads to a modification of the structures that compose it (bone, capsule, muscle). Through this inflammatory process space between one body and one bone thinning, the joint capsule becomes stiff and alter the existing balance between the cells that remodel and repair the bone, causing the contraction of the muscles around the apparatus and loss of functionality. Its frequency increases with age (usually over 65-70 years). Injuries to the spine, according to some researchers, would start from the third decade of life although it is difficult to locate because of its insidious onset. Arthritic pain is usually absent during sleep and reappears in the morning when you call into motion, although it may disappear after that there was “heated.” May become greater as the climate changes, humidity, wind and going from hot to cold. Back pain symptoms
• Scoliosis
  It is a lateral curve of the spine, most often associated to a rotation and a twist of the vertebrae. It can be congenital or postural, but the most common form is called idiopathic, ie that you do not know the cause. In this case, the back muscles undergo an overload of work in the long run due to painful disorders.
• Ankylosing spondylitis
  It ‘a form of arthritis that affects the spine, especially the costovertebral and intervertebral joints. And ‘more common in men at a young age and occurs with considerable stiffness in the morning. The pain may move from side to side or back of the sternum, causing difficulty breathing, when you extend the chest.
• Osteoporotic fractures
  This is a real crushing of the vertebrae caused by a process of decalcification of bone. And ‘common in postmenopausal women.
• Spinal stenosis
  And ‘noise typical of old age – even if you know a congenital form – and is due to degeneration of the bone. In other words, there has been a narrowing of the central channel of the column or lateral foramina – structures within which, as we have seen, the nerves pass. The pain can be felt especially when the person is sitting.
• Dysmetria of the lower limbs
  For reasons not yet well clarified a limb can grow in length without the other. The difference in the three millimeters is considered physiological if you exceed that threshold, you can create compensatory problems in back, subject to additional efforts that eventually lead to chronic problems and pain can not be resolved with simple insoles to shoes.
• Bone tumors, metastases from cancers that have developed in other organs, such as prostate, breast, etc..

Back pain as a symptom of other disorders or trauma

Other disturbances, such as gallstones and gastroesophageal reflux, starting from the organs involved and radiating to the back, can give the illusion that it has to do with a problem for the spine. Do not underestimate the dental malocclusion. When you have a pain in the joints of the mouth, you realize that chewing evil – for example, only one hand – or you hear “noises” jaw, you should use a dental visit because such problems, if unresolved, can affect on the spine, causing muscle imbalances, and thus pain. In the case of falls or when you suffer from the so-called “whiplash” as a result of motor vehicle accidents, the spine stiffens muscles to better protect the section of the column that has suffered the insult. This muscle contraction may last long or become chronic pain if the trauma has not been cared for properly. It should be also considered that the pain can be localized both in the affected area from trauma than in other areas far from impressed.

Back pain as a disorder in itself

Back pain, for which the physician has not found other causes, can be traced to three areas:

1. Mechanical / functional.
In this case, it refers primarily to the disc disease, which is a hernia or prolapse of an intervertebral disc. The discs consist of a “pad” that surrounds a hard outer bearing fibrous, watery-gelatinous consistency, and the other is inserted between vertebrae. Their core – for various reasons, for example, trauma – can be crushed. When the disc is compressed tend to leave their own home, reducing the “game” between a vertebra and the other in an abnormal way and urging other structures, and especially the nerves. A hernia is defined as “contained” only if it has an initial failure of the ligaments, “protruded” when, despite having damaged the ligaments, the disc has not left his home. “Expelled”, when the disk is no longer between the two vertebrae. The herniated disc is more common at the lumbar spine and causes irritation of the nerves that come out in that area like the one that affects the sciatic leg. The most vulnerable people are male aged between 35 and 50 years.

2. Postural.
These behaviors or poor posture, often caused by chairs, armchairs, beds too soft, bad habits, like staying too long in one fixed posture (sitting or standing), or constrained by their work activities, movements or incorrect such as lifting weights incorrectly, etc..

3. Psychological.
The back is one of the body parts most affected by Pain Disorder (pain), is associated with psychological factors than physical condition. If the physical disorder is absent, the diagnosis of pain must be associated with stressors of psycho-social. Sometimes, the diagnosis is validated by the confirmation in the figurative sense of symptoms (called “conversion”) by patients (“I feel like I got stabbed in the back”, “I suffer as if I brought him an intolerable burden”). These patients, however, are generally reluctant to associate their problem with these reasons, and often reject any form of psychotherapy. We are visiting many doctors and continue to require physical treatment, demonstrating continuing need for dependence and treatment, although the disorder has a different nature.

Duration and location of the pain

Acute LBP
It’s the kind of disturbance that lasts more than 4-6 weeks. 70% of patients within two weeks beyond the pain. An attack of acute back pain do not require any special investigation by the doctor, unless there is one or more of the following variables that may favor the physician to make the request for further investigation:

• older than 50 years
• presence of pain at rest
• previous cancer
• high fever over 38 degrees for more than two days (suspected infection)
• neuromotor deficits (inability to walk, perform movements or numbness)
• falls or other traumas
• Abuse of alcohol or drugs
• suspected ankylosing spondylitis

Chronic back pain

In this case, the disorder may persist beyond 6 weeks. The doctor then may resort to more sophisticated investigations such as x-ray of the column in orthostasis (standing) to check the curve of the spine, CT (computed tomography) that even the photographer millimeter movements of the vertebrae, MRI nuclear power, more precise and less damaging TAC, even if it is more expensive, electromyography, or through needle electrodes inserted into the skin of the hands and feet, allows to evaluate the functionality and integrity of the nerves leaving the spinal cord . They may also be required blood tests if you think that you are facing a severe inflammatory process as in the case of ankylosing spondylitis. In the case of postural disorders, is obviously necessary to intervene on lifestyle, working conditions, offering targeted physical activity and avoiding excessive sedentary habits.

Location of pain

neck pain
The neck pain may be sudden and violent in a small area of the neck (torticollis) that prevents the rotation of the head to the right and left. The illness is sometimes accompanied by nausea, dizziness, ringing in the ears, agitation or confusion. The chronic neck pain, if untreated, can lead to debilitating headaches. The cervicobrachialgia (or cervico-brachial neuralgia) relates to an upper limb pain, which can be up to the hand and can be located on the left, or right to have bilateral significance. One of the symptoms of osteoarthritis neck to warn – moving his head – “noise” neck, as if there was sand inside that makes friction.

back pain
It covers a very small percentage of back pain. In general, it is in an acute form and radiates along the costal arches, sometimes reaching even to the sternum. In these cases it can cause problems with breathing.

back Pain
Low back pain is the most common back pain (nearly 90% of cases). In the acute form is caused when a weight is lifted off the ground. And ‘the classic “lumbago,” which causes the sensation of ripping or burning so violent as to prevent the subject to get back right. In English, the pain is more appropriately called “low back pain” (pain in the lower part of the column). The pain is “bar”, ie in the lumbar transverse with possible radiation to the sciatic nerve (lumbosciatica). In chronic cases, the root cause may be the posture (eg, avoid long standing in the same position, while driving or sitting in the car for long distances).

How to cure back pain

Find the exact etiology of the disorder is not as easy to identify the causes may involve several medical disciplines and, therefore, different specialists:

Factor	Specialist
Bones	Orthopaedic
Nerve	Neurologist
Muscles	Physiotherapist
Herniated Disc	Surgeon
Malocclusion Dental	Dentista
Stress	Psychiatrist or psychosomatic

It can therefore be disconcerting for a patient who expects more specific measures for each identified type of pain, to discover that the back pain that many factors come into play often encourage generic diagnosis or indications of insufficiently robust interventions. On the other hand, the back pain is just the kind of disorder that should prompt physicians to give up, if possible, too specialized or sectoral choices, trying – at least in the first instance and the second overt evidence of pathological – to consider the patient as an individual as a whole, making a diagnostic effort must type “holistic”, without stopping to evil but to seek its true etiology, ie the origin.

Traditional therapies

Pharmacology against back pain there are many drugs are effective but often toxic. So, it must be prescribed under the supervision of the doctor who knows the patient well. There are also anti-inflammatory drugs (paracetamol, acetylsalicylic acid, indomethacin, steroids) that may have side effects, however, to the detriment of the stomach mucosa. You can then also use drugs to “muscle relaxants” acting on the muscles, but can cause drowsiness.

Technical means to combat back pain can also make use of devices such as infrared laser, which is useful for back pains and sciatica, the radar therapy, which uses electromagnetic waves in cases where the pain is caused by the muscles, the TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator) units alternating current to be applied locally to painful areas, infiltration with a mixture of oxygen and ozone, or intramuscularly in the Percutaneous intradorsale.

Physical therapy and rehabilitation activities are useful for vertebral tractions herniated disc and, of course, contraindicated in case of fractures or osteoporosis. They are used to stretch the muscles by reducing the crushing discs on the nerve endings. There are also many other techniques of movement, muscle stretching and deconcentration (physiotherapy, Kabat, connective tissue massage, etc..)

Surgery for herniated disks is used less and less surgery. The operation usually takes place when you are faced with a hernia and can be excluded in several ways. By excision (the knockout), the nucleolysis (the dissolution of the disc) and nucleoaspirazione, relatively recent technique, less invasive but can only apply to certain cases.

Alternative therapies

Acupuncture
In therapy for back pain, acupuncture has made significant achievements that were recognized by the medical establishment, which has assigned them, however, the effect of specific nerve reflexes energy instead of theories based on the concepts of yin and yang. Acupuncture subject of great importance to the knowledge of the human body and soul and has as main objective the search for harmony lost. This puts medicine in the treatment of back pain special attention to weather conditions, psychological factors, errors in diet, etc..

Chiropractic
And ‘science, or rather, the art of massage, through which, according to the interactions between the structure and the skeletal muscle, can stimulate the body’s ability to recover. This discipline attempts to locate subluxations, that certain small changes in relations between the vertebrae and solves precisely through appropriate manipulative maneuvers. The therapeutic intervention is not aimed only at the part where the pain is localized, but seeks to identify bodies do not function well.

Psychosomatic Medicine
This type of medicine considers the human being as indivisible whole of mind and body and the disease as “existential distress.” The back, according to this interpretation is the central axis that supports the entire body and its many symbolic meanings are combined, in case of pain, can highlight a number of unresolved emotional conflicts somatization. The patient should therefore be able to “challenge” their own choices in life by seeking the help of a psychotherapist.

Homeopathic Medicine
According to this discipline, every human being is different and the disease does not exist as an entity in itself but is directly related to the personality, lifestyle, thoughts and emotions of the person who suffers. Homeopathic remedies should be used to stimulate the patient’s own defensive processes.

Some practical advice

In uncomplicated cases – which typically are the majority – when it comes to acute back pain, which does not radiate below the knee, radiological investigations are not necessary or the use of specialists. Below, we provide some tips for those suffering from this disorder.

1.Avoid excessive bed rest
According to the majority of orthopedic surgeons to be too much rest can be counterproductive. It is said that for every week of bed rest they needed at least two rehabilitation.

2.Cold, heat, or both things at once
In the case of back pain in an acute form it is suggested that either the cold or heat, or even both of the alternate solutions. The cold, in fact, reduces swelling and tension of the muscles of the back (an ice pack on the sore). The heat, however, helps to reduce spasms (a soft cloth soaked in warm water on the sore back, with the help of a heating pad if any).

3.Stretching exercises
To stop the spasm can be used also to movements of stretching: the lower back can be a good lift with the knees out of bed very slowly, bringing them toward your chest, pressing a little ‘about them until you feel the muscles stretch and repeat the exercise ten times.

4.Sleeping with back pain
When you have back pain even sleeping can be a problem. First of all, it is necessary that the bed is not hollow. To avoid this plank is inserted under the mattress. Since it is not possible to sleep on his stomach, the position is best described as “lazy to them” with a pillow under the head and neck, with your back relatively flat on the bed and another pillow under your knees bent. Keeping your knees straight, in fact, the tendons stretch and create further tension in the lumbar region. Another good location is the so-called “fetal”, ie sleeping on your side by putting a pillow between your knees to prevent the leg above the slide forward and rotate the hip, causing back strain.

5.Anti-inflammatory remedies
For back pain with inflammation around the painful area can be helpful to take aspirin, or if you prefer a natural anti-inflammatory such as white willow bark, which is sold in tablets in herbal shops. It is a natural salicylate, taken after meals, and rarely hurts stomach has its undoubted effectiveness. In any case, the pain medication, if you decide to take on along with your general practitioner, should be taken at regular intervals, not need.

6.The gravity inversion bench
Among the useful tools to reduce back pain should not forget the bench for gravity inversion: a special tool, folding back, can be reversed. The reversal of gravity, made for 5 / 10 minutes a day, can relieve back pain, stretch the spine and loosen the tension of the muscles responsible for back pain. It ‘should, however, seek the prior opinion of the doctor, especially if you intend to use the people who have a herniated disc problems or suffer from glaucoma.

7.Tai Chi
Finally, we mention the ancient discipline of the “Tai Chi”, suitable for people of all ages, based on slow movements and fluid is an excellent system and helps relax the back muscles, promoting inner harmony of the body.