Back Muscle Pain

Pain in the back can be classified into upper, middle and lower back muscle pain. The most common among them is the lower back pain. According to statistics, about 90% of the people do suffer from it at some point of time in life. Any kind of back pain often tends to have some kind of underlying reasons, it is mostly difficult to figure one out of it. If a person suffers from back pain for 15 days to a month, it is classified as acute back pain. While if a patient suffers from back pain for an extended period of time, it is termed as chronic back pain.

Causes of Back Muscle Pain

Any of the back pain can be caused mainly due to three reasons. Injury to the back is one of the most common causes. Injury can be caused due to strain. It is followed by diseases and degeneration. Many a time, pain in the front of the body is radiates to the back of the body. Such a pain is known as referred pain. Pain arising in the abdomen region, pelvic region or in the chest is known to cause referred pain. A number of women suffer from back pain during pregnancy or menstrual cycle. It is caused due to stretching of the ligaments, irritating nerves or simply straining the back.

Muscle spasms in the back muscles are also known to cause pain in the back muscles. Sudden lower back pain is often due to spasm. Causes of lower back and hip pain are sometimes also lifestyle related. Sitting or standing for an extended period of time can cause back pain.

Herniated disc is degeneration of the discs. The jelly like portion in the disc comes out of the cavity and causes impact on any of the nerve root, giving rise to pain. They can also lead to nerve impingement. The nerve may be trapped due to bulging of the jelly like portion.

Upper and middle back pain is often caused by spondylosis. In this condition, there is loss of moisture and volume from the inter-vertebral discs. There are many causes of this problem. Along with age, constant strain on the discs can also cause this condition. In such a case, if there is any kind of trauma to the inter-vertebral discs, it can aggravate the condition.

Nerve impingement caused to the sciatic nerve is also one of the causes of back pain. Sciatica pain often radiates in the lower back region. The other causes are narrowing of the spinal canal, myofascial pain, fibromyalgia, arthritis, tumors, infection of the nerves in the back, etc. The symptoms of back pain can also be caused due to bony lumbar spine.

Treatment

When you suffer from lower, upper or middle back pain, it is important to find out the cause of the problem. For relief you can make use of ice packs. Ice helps in relieving even some cases of chronic back pain. To avoid back pain due to straining, as soon as you realize you have strained your back, use ice pack on the affected part. However, it is important not to use ice directly to avoid frost bite condition. Apart from ice therapy the next best thing to do is to give sufficient rest to the back. You may require one or two days of rest. However, walk around a little, so that the muscles do not weaken.

Like ice packs, heating pads can also be used for pain relief. Use heat for not more than 20 to 30 minutes at one time. You can also alternate between ice pack and heat packs. It will also help in quick relief.

If you regularly suffer from back pain, then you may want to try physiotherapy. Some of the exercises or yoga poses can bring immense amount of relief from back pain. Looking at your condition the chiropractor will be in a better condition to give you the right kind of back strengthening exercises. The back pain exercises should ideally be done under the supervision of a physiotherapist.

If the pain is unbearable, then you may want to take over-the-counter pain killers. They will help in bringing temporary relief from pain. Muscle relaxants for back pain can also be used.

If the back muscle pain is unbearable, it is recommended, that your seek medical opinion. At the same time, do not forget to mention all the symptoms you suffer from to your health care professional. The remedies given in this write up are not medical advice. Talk to your health care professional before you use them.