Health Care Program | Bridal Boot Camp

Back pain is one of humanity’s most frequent complaints. Back pain can be divided anatomically: neck pain, upper back pain, lower back pain or tailbone pain. Back pain can be a sign of a serious medical problem, although this is not most frequently the underlying cause:Typical warning signs of a potentially life-threatening problem are bowel and/or bladder incontinence or progressive weakness in the legs. Back pain that occurs after a trauma, such as a car accident or fall may indicate a bone fracture or other injury. Back pain in individuals with medical conditions that put them at high risk for a spinal fracture, such as osteoporosis or multiple myeloma, also warrants prompt medical attention.

The pain can often be divided into neck pain, upper back pain, lower back pain or tailbone pain. The pain may be radiate into the arm and hand), in the upper back, or in the low back, (and might radiate into the leg or foot), and may include symptoms other than pain, such as weakness, numbness or tingling. A few studies suggest that psychosocial factors such as on-the-job stress and dysfunctional family relationships may correlate more closely with back pain than structural abnormalities revealed in x-rays and other medical imaging scans.

Chronic back pain is measured by duration — pain that persists for more than 3 months is considered chronic. Chronic lower back pain usually has a more insidious onset, occurring over a long period of time. Medications are often used to treat acute and chronic low back pain. Currently, researchers are examining the use of different drugs to effectively treat back pain, in particular, chronic pain that has lasted at least 6 months. Opioids such as codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine are often prescribed to manage severe acute and chronic back pain but should be used only for a short period of time and under a physician’s supervision. Many specialists are convinced that chronic use of these drugs is detrimental to the back pain patient, adding to depression and even increasing pain.

Back Pain TreatmentThe most frustrating aspect in treatment of back pain is that there is no “magic bullet. Back Pain Treatments and Pain Relief Common types of back pain include acute pain, chronic pain and neuropathic pain, which medical experts have only recently begun studying. Back pain relief strategies range from simple tried and true intervention such as heat and cold through the use of brand new medications to surgical interventions. The management goals when treating back pain are to achieve maximal reduction in pain intensity as rapidly as possible; to restore the individual’s ability to function in everyday activities; to help the patient cope with residual pain; to assess for side-effects of therapy; and to facilitate the patient’s passage through the legal and socioeconomic impediments to recovery.

Comments are closed.