If you have low back pain try these steps first
Low back pain, the scourge of mankind: it is the second leading cause of disability here in the United States, and the fourth worldwide. It’s also one of the top five medical problems for which people see doctors. Almost every day that I see patients, I see someone with back pain. It’s one of the top reasons for lost wages due to missed work, as well as for healthcare dollars spent, hence, a very expensive problem.
Looking at two kinds of back pain
Let’s talk about the most common forms of back pain: acute (which lasts less than four weeks) and subacute (which lasts four to 12 weeks). Most of these cases (approximately 85%) are due to harmless causes. We lump them into the “mechanical back pain” diagnosis, which includes muscle spasm, ligament strain, and arthritis. A handful (3% to 4%) will be due to potentially more serious causes such as herniated discs (“bulging” discs), spondylolisthesis (“slipped” discs), a compression fracture of the vertebra due to osteoporosis (collapsed bone due to bone thinning), or spinal stenosis (squeezing of the spinal cord due to arthritis). Rarely, less than 1% of the time, we will see pain due to inflammation (such as ankylosing spondylitis), cancer (usually metastases), or infection.
When someone with acute low back pain comes into the office, my main job is to rule out one of these potentially more serious conditions through my interview and exam. It is only when we suspect a cause other than “mechanical” that we will...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Monique Tello, MD, MPH Tags: Back Pain Managing your health care Pain Management Source Type: blogs
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