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Solving the Perplexing Puzzle of Back Pain
An estimated eight out of ten people
in the United States will injure their back at some
point during their lives. Few of these problems will
require extended treatment, but back problems are invariably
painful.
Managing and relieving back pain is
not a simple process. The experience of pain is subjective;
it cannot be measured from the outside. Health providers
who treat back pain find it challenging to obtain the
objective or measurable signs that verify and diagnose
a patient's painful back symptoms.
Additionally, everyone's experience
of pain is different. Pain descriptors encompass numerous
adjectives - dull, sharp, throbbing, pulsating, stabbing
and shock-like, just to name a few.
People experience and describe pain
so differently partly due to its varied and complex
origins. In fact, pain originates from numerous places
in the body, such as muscles, bones, nerves, organs
or blood vessels.
Pain is also described as acute or chronic.
The word "acute" derives from the Latin word
for needles and is usually described as a severe, sharp
sensation. The initial stage of an injury is called
the acute phase.
The word "chronic", on the
other hand, originated from the Greek word for time.
Chronic pain is pain that persists after a length of
time, often months to years. Many back injuries tend
to become chronic, especially when not treated properly
during the acute phase. Chronic pain is often experienced
as a dull ache or constant nagging irritant.
Acute and chronic pain sensations also
travel different nervous system pathways inside the
body. When you injure muscles or ligaments in your back,
nerve endings called pain receptors pick up the pain
impulses and transmit them to the spinal cord. From
here, the pain message ascends to the brain. This process
takes place at varying rates of speed depending on the
size of the nerve fiber involved.
Acute pain tends to travel on faster,
larger diameter fibers, while chronic pain prefers smaller,
slower pain fibers. Experts suggest that chronic pain
affects the brain's limbic system, which is associated
with emotional states. Anyone who has ever had a long-term
painful injury knows that negative or distressing emotions
may accompany or perpetuate the initial injury.
The best way to treat chronic back pain
syndromes is to prevent them. Although proficient early
treatment does not always prevent an acute injury from
turning into a chronic problem, it is a good insurance
policy. Early treatment is especially important with
injuries to the soft tissues (muscles, tendons and ligaments)
to prevent them from becoming weaker, less elastic and
more pain-sensitive.
One of the best ways to treat both acute
and chronic soft tissue injuries is a hands-on approach
that works to repair the injured tissues. Some examples
are joint and soft tissue manipulation and mobilization,
typically performed by a doctor of chiropractic or osteopath.
Other good options are massage and physical therapy.
A formal rehabilitation program at a health club or
therapy clinic may also help to strengthen weakened
and damaged muscles, especially the core stabilizers
of the back.
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