Tuesday, 28 December 2010

What Is The Cause And Effect Of Chronic And Acute Low Back Pain


If you have ever suffered from low back pain you will know that it can be a very miserable experience. You may hurt so bad that you can't seem to do much of anything and it will set off the pain. It can get so severe, you want to tear your hair out. Low back pain can cause you to become someone you really aren't, if you don't control the pain level.

Pain can make you easily irritated and grouchy. It can cause depression which can make you want to isolate yourself from family, work and any other social activity. There are some things you can do to control the pain level and this article will talk about the different types of low back pain and how they can effect you and your loved ones.

There are two types of low back pain. One form is known as acute. This is a short term condition and will pass with time. It can be caused from numerous things such as a muscle spasm or herniated disc, but with time and treatment it will heal. The other form of low back pain is called chronic. It can last more than three months up to a lifetime. There are many things that can cause chronic low back pain that are similar to the acute causes such as herniated disc, or muscles spasms, but for some reason, these conditions don't heal quickly. It's a known fact that people can experience low back pain without any apparent reasons. Medically, the symptoms can't be explained, but the pain is very real to the person suffering.

Low back pain is one of the main reasons for missing work, and one of the leading causes for disability. Other causes for low back pain can be degenerative disc disease which can be a hereditary weakness in the spine. Obesity can also be a cause for back pain. With many Americans facing obesity these days it's no wonder that billions of dollars are spent on low back pain each year. Other causes of back pain can be stress, an uncomfortable bed and smoking. Did you know that smoking is a main cause for low back pain. That's right. Smoking causes a restriction in blood flow to the spine and can cause disc degeneration. It is important for blood to flow freely throughout the body because good blood flow promotes good cell growth, which provides healing to take place, not just from low back pain, but in the entire body.

There are many ways to treat low back pain and one of the first ways is to treat by medication, in order to relieve the pain. In order for someone to heal, they have to be able to relax. When we are tense or stressed, the muscles tend to tighten up which can cause blood flow to be restricted and not allow healing to take place. Other things such as the use of heat and cold can help inflammation of muscle tissue to be reduced. Some cases of low back pain may require surgery to repair or remove a piece of bone tissue that may have broken off from a disc. If you have low back pain and it isn't going away, you should seek medical attention because you can do more damage to the area the longer you wait. If you are experiencing numbness in the legs and feet along with low back pain, seek medical attention as without treatment, you can develop permanent damage to the nerves.








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