How Excess Weight Affects Your Body

December 18, 2008 by soreback · Comments Off 

WEIGHT AND THE BACK Your back is probably the one area of the body that works the hardest when you’re overweight, along with your heart, lungs, and joints.  Your back is working all the time to keep you upright and balanced and to support your upper body no matter what you’re doing. Whe... read more

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Being Overweight Causes Back Pain

December 16, 2008 by soreback · Comments Off 

BODY WEIGHT WEIGHS ON BACK People often have a hard time understanding why body weight causes so many various health problems.  After all, if you’re six inches taller than the average person you’re probably not suffering very much, so why should sixty extra pounds be an issue? The truth... read more

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Stress and Back Problems

December 14, 2008 by soreback · Comments Off 

PREVENTING STRESS Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just take a pill that makes us impervious to stress and anxiety, or flip some type of switch that shuts off all the problems and stresses of the world? Yeah, right. That would be nice but until that time occurs we need to do whatever we can to ... read more

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It May Not Be Your Back

December 11, 2008 by soreback · Comments Off 

Go back over the section that outlined the many muscles of the back and take another look at that.  Notice how the many muscles of the back are connected to the muscles of the neck, shoulders, arms, hips, legs, and so on? Every part of the body is connected in some way to every other part of the bo... read more

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6 Common Causes of Back Pain

December 7, 2008 by soreback · Comments Off 

So we’ve looked at the major muscles of the back and have a better understanding of how each of those muscles or muscle groups are involved with movement and even with the functions of the body.  But knowing how the back can cause chronic pain with every single movement doesn’t exactly explain how that pain originates in the first place.  Let’s take a closer look at what causes most back pain and injuries so that we can have a better understanding of how to avoid that pain in the first place and how to treat it once it happens.

INJURY

Probably the most common cause of pain in the back area is an injury.  This might seem surprising to many since they often have pain in their back but don’t think they’ve actually ever injured themselves in any way.

In reality it doesn’t take that much to injure any of the muscles of the back.  While we’ve covered the major muscles and muscle groups that extend from your neck to your lower back, there are literally dozens of smaller muscles that can cause tremendous amounts of pain when injured or hurt.

What is especially important to remember about injuring your back is that when you hurt any of these smaller muscles they rarely have time to heal properly.  Since the back is constantly in use even when we’re at rest, these muscles are always being stretched and strained.  It’s much like having to go to work when you have a cold or the flu – it takes that much longer to heal when you can’t rest because your body can’t give the sick parts the attention it deserves.  So it goes with your back – when you hurt any of those muscles, no matter how small, they just can’t be immobile for the hours and days needed to heal completely.

The injuries that you experience in your back that cause pain aren’t always as severe as a car accident or when lifting incredibly heavy objects, although of course those are typical problems as well.

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Here are some typical examples of actual injuries to the back that can cause pain long-term:

  • Overuse of the back muscles.  This can be from a job or hobby that uses the back muscles repeatedly, such as working in the construction trades, loading or unloading objects, and activities such as bowling or golfing.  Repeated use of the back muscles actually causes injury over time.  Think of lifting weights – you feel the pain in your arms when you’re at the gym and you know to quit, but when you’re on the job or out playing that beloved round of golf you often ignore those simple aches and pains that mean injury to those small muscles.
  • Jarring from traffic stops and starts; even if you’re not technically in a traffic accident, slamming on your brakes means that the back must work suddenly and swiftly to protect the body from careening forward.  This sudden stopping and starting makes the back work overtime in a way it’s not designed to work, which means injury.
  • Overextending the back muscles from twisting side to side.  These very small muscles that are located up and down the sides of the abdomen and rib cage are very susceptible to injury this way; when they’re overextended they are actually injured.
  • Carrying weight.  This can mean a very heavy backpack, purse, or other item that puts undue stress and strain on the back.  The muscles work hard to carry and balance this weight and often suffer tears and strains without anyone even realizing it.
  • Sudden stresses and strains.  How many times have you gone to hug a child only to have him or her suddenly lift their feet off the ground so that you’re carrying their entire weight when you didn’t expect it?  Or have suddenly slipped or tripped and have had to catch yourself without thinking?  These types of sudden and unexpected stresses and strains can cause injury to your back as it’s not ready and prepared to handle these events.  The muscles can be tense and caught off guard which means they’re more prone to tiny tears and stresses.

As said, people often don’t even realize that they’ve injured their back until much later, after the injury occurs.  Muscles often knot up as a way of protecting themselves from further injury and as long as they’re knotted the body may not sense pain.  It’s only later when they begin to loosen up that a person realizes something is wrong.

ARTHRITIS

We often think of those who have arthritis as being of a particular age and often assume that it only happens in the fingers or knees.  In reality many people who suffer from back problems have arthritis that has developed in the back and they often don’t even realize it.

A slow burn.

Typically arthritis in the back develops over many years of physical activity and wear and tear on the back – overuse of those muscles, straining and stresses, improper posture, and obesity are long-term causes of arthritis in the back.

When a person has arthritis in the back there is a deterioration of the discs between the bones of the spine.  This means that the bones are taking on more impact than they should and there is pain and stiffness, and eventually arthritis builds.  A person does not need to be prone to arthritis to develop it in the back and may not realize that it is developing until it’s too late, and then they suffer from the chronic and constant pain.
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