Back Pain FAQs

spinal stenosis

Back pain is a common problem people suffer these days. Almost 70-90% of people experience some kind of backache in their lifetime. Most back problems occurs in the lumbar region of the spinal cord.

Some FAQs Related To Back Pain

1. What are the causes for back problems?
Answer: The reasons for back pain can be attributed to factors that include - injuries from accidents, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, mechanical disorders, developmental disorders, inflammatory disorders, infectious disorders and even the growth of cancerous tumor in the spinal cord. Back problems can also be a result of strain on the muscles and ligaments of the back owing to improper postures, stress, weight lifting, muscle spasm and sudden movements.

2. What are the two categories of back problems?
Answer: The two categories of back pain are acute and chronic. Acute back pain originates due to cancer, fractures, trauma, arthritis, infections or even due to diseases in the internal organs. Chronic backache is constant and might have been there for months.

3. What are the other conditions that can lead to back pain?
Answer: The other conditions that can lead to backache are herniated disk, sciatica, spinal stenosis, spondylosis and spondylolisthesis.

4. What is a degenerative disk disease?
Answer: A degenerative disk disease is the degeneration of disks of the vertebrae due to aging. The pain resulting from this is sometimes felt by the patients and sometimes not. Other activities like house cleaning, yard work or even missing a step can result in degenerative disk. Normally, the pain from this heals itself within few days.

5. What is a facet syndrome?
Answer: This is the main reason of backache. The pain is usually in the side joints of the back along with pain in upper leg and buttocks. The pain is the result of standing or sitting or lying in the same position for a long time.

6. How do you define a herniated disk?
Answer: This is also referred as ruptured or protruding disk. The cause of a herniated disk is unknown. The pain can arise due to the compression of the nerves and also from pressure on the fibers in the ligaments.

7. What are spondylolisthesis and spondyloarthropathy?
Answer: Spondylolisthesis is the forward displacement of the fourth or fifth lumbar vertebrae over the vertebrae below them. This can be diagnosed with the help of an x-ray. Spondyloarthropathy refers to the various diseases affecting the joints of the spine. This is a variation of arthritis and is more common in males. This can be diagnosed through physical examination, x-ray, CAT or MRI.

8. What is spinal stenosis?
Answer: Spinal stenosis is the narrowing of vertebral canal due to aging process. This is usually diagnosed with the help of myelography, x-rays and CAT scan.

9. What are the various physical therapies available to ease backache?
Answer: The various programs available to ease back pain are stretching exercises, strengthening exercises, McKenzie exercises, dynamic lumbar stabilization exercises and aerobic exercises like walking, stationary cycling and water therapy.

10. What are the home remedies available for easing backache?
Answer: When the back is injured, first a pack of ice is applied for few days to reduce pain and swelling. Taking pain killers like Advil, ibuprofen, Tylenol etc helps to ease the back pain. Also applying heat helps to reduce the pain.