"Back Pain. When should you be concerned?"

"Stabbing pain and muscle ache that radiates below the ribcage and along the lower back which often extends to the lower body causing leg pain and disabling physical movements. Any activity triggers it and lying down might feel like the escape for some time, but it is not and it can’t be a lifestyle...”

About 60-80% of people experience back pain throughout their lifetimes, mostly of which resolves on its own, but not less than 12% of them live with it as a chronic problem for more than 6 weeks, pain medications have been tolerated, a lot of infections, medical and spinal conditions that have back pain as a symptom are ruled out, leaving us with a conclusion that it can be a result of accumulated changes that should be put back to normal.

Back pain causes are a lot, and once known they can be managed, but we always look at one place assuming that it is the reason, while we should take a step back and look at the whole picture, This is what Physiotherapy is all about.

It is a science-based profession that takes a “whole life approach” to reach health and well-being, our bodies have 206 bones surrounded with muscles, ligaments and nerves at which every part has a place to fit in perfectly, but things change without us noticing what is normal and what is abnormal and that is what a physiotherapist specializes in…

Let’s mention some of the normal lifestyles that we encounter changing a lot in our bodies and have an effect on our overall back health:

Motherhood, back pain is considered a pregnancy symptom that is expected to alleviate after labor assuming that the spine adjusted back to normal after the pressure and increased weight are gone, but with the continuous holding of an increasing weight-infant, the spine doesn’t have the chance to restructure back, triggering episodes of back pain that affects the overall activity of a new mom that hopped from a lifestyle to another with no time for proper adjustments.

Rehab is needed for the spine by correct posture breastfeeding, holding, standing, sitting, lifting, and sleeping to get things back to normal and get rid of the pain to be able to chase the baby as soon as he starts to walk.

And with following an appropriate exercise scheme after labor, it helps put things back to normal and help you regain your beauty and confidence.

Contraception, it is considered a certain type of a lifestyle for females who are not ready to be pregnant yet, it might seem okay for some but for others this slight change by taking a pill daily can cause a problem. Estrogen-progesterone changes before and during menstruation with the use of contraceptives causes back pain that might be intolerable for some time.

With suitable stretching and exercises the pain can be lessened.

The same issue encounter “Hypermobile female”, they suffer more from such hormonal changes with contraceptives than others, they have joints that can move beyond the normal range of movements which needs collagen to stabilize it and estrogen helps stabilize collagen, but with the Estrogen-Progesterone imbalance that happens when progesterone outweighs estrogen, collagen doesn’t reach joints causing episodes of pain in the lower back and joints before and after menstruation, but luckily proper exercises and certain physical movements helps control this monthly issue.

Exercising, Newly active people staring fitness journeys may suffer from back pain as a result of an unprepared body. Such a change needs proper preparation to ensure better performance and less incidence of injury, this can achieved by preconditioning exercises and stretching.

Sedentary workstyle

Office work might let you sit no less than 8 hours daily, sitting slouched and hunched for a long time does nothing but increasing stress on the neck, arms, back and legs putting more pressure on the spinal cord, the back pain resulting from such a workstyle is to be easily avoided and reversed by good posture and 5 minutes stretching every 2 hrs. and with maintaining an active lifestyle to release the pressure and maintain a productive spirit.

Aging

After the age of 35, the body can’t use oxygen as effective as before which decreases endurance because less oxygen is carried to the lungs and working muscles, affecting physical activity especially in men with them lifting heavy weights and requiring physical strength along their lives, with the right physiotherapy techniques and exercises, endurance is increased back and lack of oxygen delivery is decreased.

It is obvious from the above mentioned that back pain can be avoided and relived by reacting properly to change and using proper physiotherapy techniques.

Everything you do and have in life affects you entirely, that is why everything should be assessed before taking steps to manage, and based on such assessment the approach is taken by different techniques:

1-Education and advice

Small changes that you can apply to your lifestyle that will build up to make it better, things you can do by listening to your body to function well together.

How to sit?

How to lift?

How to avoid pain provoking movements?

When to stretch and move properly without adding pressure to a healing part?

2-Excersises

Increasing mobility and functioning is a target for you and your body, being stronger, more flexible and lean is a win-win situation, but it should be done properly with a variety of exercises to reach the goal:

(Walking, jogging, running, swimming, Football, HIIT high-intensity interval training, Strength training, Aqua therapy, etc…)

3- Manual therapy

Where the physiotherapist can Improve movement and promote relaxation by:

Manipulation: Quick movements in a particular point that often is accompanied with a popping sound.

Mobilization: Gentle movements for pain relieve, stretching body tissues, improving circulation and fluid drainage.

Back pain as chronic and intolerable as it seems, it is manageable as soon as you start investing in treating it with a proper Body-Self-awareness relationship.