The human spine is as unique to our species as the opposable thumb and the highly developed cerebral cortex. But the spine is only part of the back - our backs also contain a network of muscles and nerves (which aren't housed inside the spinal cord), and our kidneys are located more towards the back than the front. We aren't surprised when we get aches and pains in other muscles and joints that are in constant use, so why should we be surprised when we suffer pains in our backs.
Back pain can be roughly divided into two types: upper back pain and lower back pain. The upper back is the area from the base of the neck and the top of the shoulders down to just below the bottom of the ribs where the spine starts to curve in. Upper back pain has three main causes:
Tension. We talk about stress making us feel up tight - with good reason! Stress seems to make humans tense up around the shoulder and neck area, making them ache. This tension often seems to spread up the neck and even into the scalp.
Poor posture. Bending over or slouching for a long period of time so the top of the back is arched makes the upper back ache.
Muscle strain. Putting the muscles of the shoulder and upper back under unaccustomed strain makes them ache. This is probably the least common cause of upper back pain.
Lower back pain is more complicated and has more causes. It is also more common, mainly because the lower back is home to the "lumbar plexus", which is a "hub" for a number of major nerves spreading down into the hips and legs. Aches and pains in this part of the back can be caused by any of the following:
Poor posture (again). Standing and especially sitting with bad posture puts excessive strain on the lower back and makes it hurt. The curve of your lower back (known as the "lumbar lordosis" should be supported. The answer is not, as many believe, to make this part of the back straight. The aim here is the golden mean - neither having a perfectly straight spine nor an excessive curve.
Weak lower back muscles. If your lower back muscles (part of the group known as the "core muscle group") are weakened through lack of use, they tire easily and fail to keep our spines in the right place. Exercises to strengthen the lower back often help to treat this form of lower back pain.
Poor lifting technique. This is the most common cause of what's known as "putting your back out". Often, it's not a single instance of lifting one heavy thing that puts your back out. Usually, it's constant bad lifting that does the damage. For example, someone can spend most of the day lifting, say, house plants or crates with little more than a twinge of pain in the lower back - but at the end of the day, they try to pick up a cat using bad technique (again) and there goes their back! It's a case of the old saying "it's the last straw that broke the camel's back" - almost literally.
Obesity. Carrying too much weight on the abdomen puts extra stress on the lumbar lordosis - gravity is acting on all the excess fat, pulling it forward and down.
Pregnancy: The frontal position of the growing baby, plus all the amniotic fluid, etc. in the womb and abdomen pull forwards and down, putting stress on the lower back. A common home remedy for this type of lumbar pain is to sit backwards on a chair, leaning on the back of the chair and sitting astride it.
Urinary tract infections. Because the kidneys and the tubes leading from them to the bladder are located closer to our backs than to our fronts, infections in the urinary tract are often felt as sharp pain located below the ribcage between the spine and the side of the back on either (or both) side(s). The best way to treat this is with a course of antibiotics.
Once you are aware of the causes of back pain, it's easy to find the best way to treat it. For example, for upper back pain caused by tension, the best way to treat it is with massage.
No comments:
Post a Comment