According to many resources the back pain is defined as the pain that originates in joints, muscles, bones or other structures that are connected to the spine. When it comes to back pain, it could be neck pain, pain in the upper or lower back or even pain in the tail bone. Back pain may start at once due to reasons such as lifting a heavy object or any other such cause. Also back pain could be there for a long time and aggravate over time. It is such a common condition that nine out of ten people experience it at some stage of their lives.
Symptoms of back pain
- When you have back pain it aggravates when you cough or sneeze. You will feel intense pain at the time of coughing or sneezing.
- If what you have is back pain, you will feel the pain and numbness radiating down one or both legs.
- It is common that you wake up in the dead of night due to pain in the back.
- Another occasion you suffer intense pain is during bowel movement and when you are going to pass urine.
- When you feel intense back pain, you will find that you are unable to control bowel movement and passing urine.
Causes of back pain
Strains – One of the causes of back pain is maintaining the same posture for a long time. Maintaining an awkward posture for some time also contributes to back pain. Lifting heavy objects and making sudden awkward movements too could contribute to it. All these causes could lead to strains in either muscles or bones. The pain triggered by these causes could last until the affected part of the body is healed.
Injury or accumulated damage – A common form injury is called the slip disc. This happens when a heavy weight is lifted suddenly with the back bent. What happens is one of the intervertebral disks slips outside its correct position allowing nerves to be compressed causing intense pain. Also a bone on the back could get injured as a result of trauma.
Degenerative Diseases – Degenerative diseases such as osteoporosis and arthritis could bring about pain as they affect bones on the back.
Psychological conditions – Even without any physical abnormality you could get back pain. The reasons surprisingly are the depression and stress.
Additional Causes – Cancer and bacterial infections also could bring about back pain. With bacterial infection the pain is caused through inflammation.
Home remedies and treatment of back pain
Treatment for back pain depends on the cause. However, the following home remedies could be used to relieve the pain.
- Applying hot or cold press with the use of a bottle of hot water or an ice pack.
- A hot bath could be used to relieve the pain. It is good to stay inside a hot water tub for a short while.
- It is good to take regular exercises to strengthen the muscles on the back. This could be done both when you have back pain and when you don’t have.
- As Stress and depression could cause back pain, taking enough rest to get rid of stress and depression will be a good remedy for back pain.
- Giving a massage is a good remedy. You never need a professional for the purpose. Anyone from the family could do it. The only thing to be careful is not to exert too much pressure. Using oil such as Eucalyptus oil or mustard oil in which a little garlic is fried is very good.
- Calcium supplements and vitamin C are good remedies but you need to consult your doctor before taking it.
- Leaving slices of potatoes on the affected area is also a good remedy.
These are home remedies you could use in order to find relief from your back pain any time you get it