The Back Pain Blog

I don’t know about yourself but when I started suffering from back pain I thought it would be a simple case of going to my doctor and explaining what was going on and be handed a prescription and life would be good once again in a day or two.

Yeah right! Nearly five years later and countless hours spent reading and researching have led me to the conclusion that back pain is one of the most misunderstood and hard to treat conditions known to man (and woman of course!).

What frustrates me beyond comprehension is the minefield of information that you have to get through to try and get a reasonable understanding of what is going on with your body. Ask a dozen different doctors and you’re likely to get a dozen different answers, read a dozen books and they are all likely to spell out different reasons and treatment methods for your condition.

I’m probably only adding to the confusion by writing this article, but what I aim to do is to make a summary from all that I’ve read regarding each of the most common reasons for back pain. Now I must stress again that I am not a doctor, nor do I aspire to be one (although I wouldn’t mind the income!), I am just a chronic back pain sufferer looking for answers.

First off we will take a look at the most common reasons for back pain today and then follow up with the suggested treatments for each condition in future posts. I hope you find this article helpful, living in pain is not what life is all about surely!

Reason Number One – Muscle Strains and Ligament Sprains

Back muscle strains are said to be the cause of around 85% of back pain cases. What is interesting about this line of thought is that these strains and/or ligament sprains can be the cause of a great deal of referred pain and muscle imbalances that can affect the spine if not treated correctly and in a timely manner.

For example a muscle strain that is left untreated and the muscle still used in the daily routine can result in, among other things, a titled pelvis which can lead to a lot of lower back pain and in the worst case scenario, a herniated disk. What started out as a minor ‘niggle’ can lead to much worse things and according to a number of therapists, chiropractors and physiotherapists this is the most common cause of back pain in today’s society.

To quote a case from Steve Lockhart’s Bad Back Book, a thirteen year old girl here in Australia had a fall down some stairs when she was six years old and after being checked out by a doctor she was found to ‘only’ have muscle pain but no structural damage. Now at the age of thirteen she came to Steve for treatment of constant tiredness and muscle fatigue and it was found that her right leg was almost two inches shorted than her left leg and she had developed a scoliosis or curve in her spine. Steve believes that all of this was caused by tight muscles brought on by the fall and the seven years of growing that she did while this condition persisted. Interesting food for thought?

In my somewhat uneducated opinion this is where all of my problems started. As a motor mechanic it was almost considered to be normal to have a sore back after a day’s work and had I addressed this at the time instead of working for ten years like this I don’t think I would be facing the issues that I am now. What a dufus!

Reason Number Two – Herniated Disk or Bulging Disk

A herniated or bulging disk is the most common ’structural’ problem that causes back pain and the majority of back surgeries are carried out because of a herniated or bulging disk. The causes of this are thought to be either wear and tear over a period of time, a severe strain or a traumatic injury to the spine.

This condition is often accompanied by sciatic nerve pinching, rubbing or entrapment which results in sharp, shooting pain in the lower back, buttocks and legs otherwise known as Sciatica. This condition is caused by a bulging or herniated disk narrowing the hollow that the spinal cord passes through at the L4/L5 level. Irritation of the nerves occurs and if the outside or annulus of the disk has ruptured it is also possible for the fluid from inside the disk to irritate the nerves and cause discomfort.

Although in theory having surgery to correct a herniated or bulging disk seems to be the obvious choice, the success rate of these surgeries is reported to be around 75-85% and many therapists and doctors alike look at this kind of surgery as a last resort measure.

Once again many therapists see muscle imbalances as the root cause of a herniated or bulging disk. The thinking behind this is that through the muscle imbalances the disk is subjected to stresses and pressure that it wasn’t designed to handle. By successfully treating the imbalances the pressure can be relieved from the disk and it is given a chance to heal without the need for surgery.

Also related to the disk’s between the vertebrae is Discogenic Back Pain. This condition is thought to be responsible for quite a large number of back pain cases and is the result of damage to the intervertabral disk without actual herniation occurring. Diagnosis of this condition may require the use of a discogram.

Reason Number Three – Osteoarthritis 

Osteoarthritis is also related to the disk’s and vertebrae that make up the spine, only this is a degenerative condition that causes deterioration of the vertebrae and disks and often results in the body producing small bony growths on the vertebrae to compensate for this wear and tear. This condition can also affect the disks between the vertebrae  which reduces the cushioning effect of the disk and when combined with the bone spurs can lead to considerable back pain and stiffness.

The pain from Osteoarthritis can subside over time as the body adjusts to these new bone growths, however the stiffness of the back associated with this condition often continues because of reduced range of movement between the vertebrae. Because of the ‘wear and tear’ nature of Osteoarthritis it is not easily treated, however supplements such as Glucosamine, Chondroitin and Neurontin have been shown to help slow down the deterioration of cartilage, relieve joint pain and improve mobility.

Reason Number Four – Osteoporosis

This condition is mainly associated with age and it is the result of decreased levels of calcium in the bones resulting in a lower bone density and porous and brittle bones.

Carrying out daily tasks when you have Osteoporosis can bring on back pain by the fracturing of the front part of the weakened bones. Likewise a fall can have the same effect and these fractures are known as compression fractures.

Reason Number Five – Fibromyalgia

One of the most common and hard to treat conditions is Fibromyalgia. This condition is usually chronic and symptoms include fatigue and widespread pain in muscles, tendons and ligaments and increased pain in response to applied pressure. There are specific points on the body that are used to diagnose Fibromyalgia and tenderness or pain in at least eleven of these eighteen areas usually indicates the onset of Fibromyalgia.

The diagnosis and treatment of Fibromyalgia is still not a perfect science although there are a number of alternative treatments and medications that are reported to be helping people suffering from this condition.

Reason Number Six – Spinal Stenosis

Spinal Stenosis occurs when the disk or disk’s dry out and degenerates causing the hollow where the nerve exits from the spine to become narrow which places the nerve at a greater risk of being irritated. Aging is the main cause of Spinal Stenosis, however a herniated disk can also contribute to this condition, as can osteoporosis or a tumor.

Surgery can be an option although the success rate has been documented as quite low. Steroid epidural injections are often used to ease the pain of someone suffering from Spinal Stenosis and there is also a number of therapists that believe a combination of gentle exercise, a healthy diet and massage can be of use.

Reason Number Seven – Scoliosis and Scheuermann’s Disease

Scoliosis is the curvature of the spine resulting from stress in the surrounding muscles and nerves. This condition can be treated by a good massage therapist and by doing exercises that restore the strength to the failing muscles, although it can take some time and chronic aching pain is often endured until the condition is brought under control.

Scheuermann’s Disease is a hereditary disease that produces progressive rounding of the back and this condition can be treated in a similar way to Scoliosis.

Reason Number Eight – Spondylolysis

This condition comes about either from being born with or developing it through injury and it relates to defective vertebral arches. Thankfully this condition is present in only 3 to 7 percent of the population and it is usually the fifth lumbar vertebrae that is involved. This condition also creates the necessary conditions for one vertebrae to slip forward in relation to the one below it and once this has occurred the condition is then known as Spondylolisthesis.

Once again treatment by way of restoring and maintaining the strength of the back muscles can greatly impact on how much this condition affects daily life.

So there you have it, my quick run down on what the most common back pain conditions are, according to the research that I have done over the last few years. I hope that you have found this article useful and in the next few posts I will endeavour to write about the common ways that each of these conditions are treated.

While I do realise that every single person is different and their condition, symptoms and likely useful treatment methods are probably all different I feel that having all the common treatments listed in the one place will help to take the confusion out of selecting a likely treatment for your individual circumstances.

Like I said at the start the biggest problem I had was working out which treatment or method was worth trying, I certainly didn’t have the money to try them all and the research that I did just led to big time information overload! Hopefully we will go a long way to simplifying the process.

Take Care,

Craig

The 7 Day Back Pain Cure

Jesse Cannone from the Healthy Back Institute has just released the first thousand copies of his much anticipated book

The 7-Day Back Pain Cure

No, it’s not a 7 day plan to have you out of pain (wouldn’t that be nice!) but what you will learn from inside this book is -

• Several Highly Effective Treatments that you most likely have not heard about – and you will never hear about from your doctor.
• Which treatment combination is right for your specific condition.
• His unique system for identifying all the factors that are currently causing your back pain so that you can treat more than just the symptoms.
• “7-Day Action Plans” which tell you exactly what you need to do, in step-by-step order based on the condition you are dealing with.
• And much more…..

And here is the best part… Jesse has decided to GIVE AWAY the first one thousand copies and donate $2 for each book given away to one of two charities – ‘Habitat For Humanity’ or ‘St Jude’s Childrens Hospital’, you get to decide.

This is an actual print book, not some re-hashed e-book so there is a small shipping fee but there are also several FREE goodies that come with the book. I’ll let you check them out for yourself but I think you will be surprised. As I said this offer is limited to the first One Thousand Copies of the book and I know they won’t last long so…..

VISIT THIS PAGE TO SECURE YOUR FREE COPY NOW!

In Part One of 8 Ways To Help Control Chronic Pain I explained that these suggestions are a culmination of almost four years of seeking treatment for my back pain and although there is nothing out of the ordinary here, I thought a reminder of the ‘basics’ of how to deal with pain might be useful. Anyway, on with the show…..

Number Five.

Set Realistic Goals – I could write about this subject all night, it is such an important part of keeping your head together (figuratively speaking!) when in pain.

Recently I had a huge ‘a-ha’ moment in which I finally realized why I have been feeling like I am constantly banging my head against a wall and not getting anywhere with both my back pain and my life in general. I was waiting for the day that the ‘magic button’ came along because that is what I need to achieve my goal of getting my life back to what it was before the back injury. WRONG!

There is a good chance that I won’t be able to live the life I did before so instead of sitting around waiting for the ‘magic button’ to arrive I have been taught to live day to day, setting small, achievable goals every day. Being up to help Belinda with the kids of a morning, mowing one half of the yard one day and doing the rest the next day, even getting the rubbish to the bins has been one of my goals recently!

By completely changing my focus to smaller day to day type goals I am at last feeling a sense of achievement every single day, rather than being depressed about being no closer to that big and probably unachievable goal that I had before because the ‘magic button’ failed to arrive yet again!

This is not to say that you forget about your ‘life’ goals or the ‘big things’ that are important to you, they will come in time once we conquer the obstacles that are in front of us at the moment. I guess it is more of a case of shifting your focus to things that give you a sense of achievement or enjoyment every day rather than looking at the big picture as it is at the moment. Try it, I’m sure you will be a happier person for it!

Number Six

Recognize Your Emotions – How we feel emotionally can greatly influence how we feel physically.

This one is a bit of a no-brainer but have you ever noticed your pain level increase when you are feeling stressed out or sad? And what about your pain level when you are doing something you really enjoy and are feeling happy and content?

I can remember our pain class instructor talking about trying to recognize the onset of the emotions that cause us pain and doing what we can to stop them affecting our physical well being. Of course human emotions are very powerful and a lot of the time there is little that we can actually do to avoid feeling a certain way, but just being aware that it is the stress or whatever we are feeling at the time that is causing the increase in pain can help us deal with it the best way we know how.

As far as I am aware there is no ‘hard and fast’ way of dealing with emotion-based pain and I’m sure everyone deals with it in their own way but I’m sure if we can recognize these emotions we will be better equipped to deal with them.

Number Seven

Understand Your Pain – On the notes that I have here it says, “Learn all you can about your particular condition”.  Now I might be alone here, but I don’t think I am, I don’t know exactly what I am dealing with because nobody can tell me!!

I can understand how knowing all you can about what is going on with your body would at least help in understanding why you feel pain and what it is that you need to do or should be doing to improve the situation but I can’t even get a straight answer on mine.

When I initially had the trouble we went to a Spinal Specialist that gave me a series of epidurals with Cortisone and a local anesthetic which were aimed at treating a bulging disc and at the time I had several fractured vertebrae. The treatment worked quite well initially and I thought I was home and hosed. Twelve months into this nightmare we go and see a Orthopedic surgeon, he takes one look at the MRI films, both current and from twelve months ago and says ” that small bulge is not the cause of your pain!”.

So we quiz him on what could possibly be wrong and he says he doesn’t know and suggests I go along to another Pain Management Class! I believe that a lot of my problems are muscle related but I still find such a difference of opinion between two professionals in closely related fields to be very confusing.

To sum up, I think Number Seven is lost on me, but if you do have a clear diagnosis of the cause of your pain it may well pay to educate yourself as much as possible about it so that you can better deal with it, or at the least have an idea of what is likely to help and what isn’t as far as treatments go.

Number Eight

Make Sure You Get Enough Sleep – Once again a bit of a no-brainer but certainly a big issue for chronic pain sufferers. Although often hard to achieve when you are in pain, a good amount of sleep allows your body to carry out the natural healing process as much as possible and obviously when we feel rested and not tired we are better prepared to deal with our pain. Here is a list of things that help promote good sleeping habits;

• Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day to get your body clock in a natural rythme.
• Regular exercise can also help with sleep.
• Try to spend some time outside in the sun everyday. Sunlight produces Melatonin which is a natural chemical in your body that promotes sleep.
• Take any medicines as directed.
• Try to keep your bedroom as dark and as quiet as possible.
• Make sure you are as comfortable as possible and have a good pillow and mattress.
• Warm hands and feet are important for getting off to sleep.
• Don’t have a caffeine fix before bed and avoid using alcohol to get to sleep.
• Avoid exercise just before bed.
• Avoid relying on sleeping tablets to get to sleep.

So there you have it, the most talked about 8 ways to help control chronic pain according to me! I hope that you have found at least some of the ideas useful and if you have any suggestions of your own feel free to leave a comment and share them with us.

Take Care,

Craig