Pain in the back is among the most frequent of all symptoms affecting human beings. A woman was once defined as “a two-legged animal with a pain in the back.” Man has been declared by mechanical experts “a mechanical misfit.” The backbone is shaped like a spring curved like the letter “S”. The spinal column is composed of small bones between which are cushions of cartilage known as disks. The bones are bound together by strong tissues called ligaments. The nerves come out in little notches between the bones. Any inflammation or infection of any of these tissues may cause a pain in the back. A sudden stress or a long-continued strain may throw any of the joints into a wrong position. Diseases may injure the cartilage or bone and result in pain. People who do heavy lifting or who stand long on their feet are especially likely to have pains in the back.
The common name for backache is lumbago; scientifically doctors speak of it as low back-pain, since it is the lower portion of the spine that is most frequently affected. In determining the cause of the pain in the back, X-ray pictures are a necessity. The use of such pictures and of other tests will reveal whether or not damage has been done to a disk, or whether or not it has slipped out of position. Sometimes an inequality in the length of the legs, even of a tiny amount, may throw a strain on some portion of the back and bring about pain. Tumors also affect the back, as they do any other portion of the body.
Sometimes backache is incidental to gout, gall bladder disease, ulcer of’ the stomach, or childbirth. The pain in the back which women often have after childbirth is sometimes related to the organs of childbirth, but at other times to disturbances of the intestines and kidneys. Sometimes the stress comes from sleeping in a bed which does not properly support the spine. For this reason, the doctor who handles such cases will want to know about the bed. He may consider the patient’s obtaining relief by wearing proper braces or supports. He will treat any detectable infection. He will measure the length of the legs, examine the patient for overweight or flat feet, and of course prescribe drugs, to relieve the pain while he is making his studies. He will also recommend the application of heat and sometimes of massage or manipulation to bring about relief.
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BONES’ DISORDERS: BACKACHE
Posted: December 22nd, 2010 under Healthy bones Osteoporosis Rheumatic.
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