Ailments and Situations - Backache |
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Description
Pain in the back can develop at any stage in life, although it touches most people in mid-adult life. It is less frequent in younger people or old age. The severity of back pain can range, but as a whole it is a remarkably widespread problem. Over 80% of people will experience back discomfort at some stage in their lives. Back-related problems on the whole force people to take more days off work than any other ailment.
Some suggest that high rates of back pain are due to an inherent weakness in the spine -- that the human body, on a greater evolutionary scale, has yet to be accustomed to being upright. Others point to the daily stresses of late twentieth century life as the cause of widespread back troubles. A recent calculation suggested that the pre-Neolithic hunter-gatherer performed about fifty lifts per day, whereas an individual today will usually perform about ten times that figure.
Symptoms and Signs:
Pain is a subjective feeling. And as the terms "backache" or "back pain" denote sensations rather than mechanics, the signs and symptoms of this disorder are felt, not necessarily detected. You may feel dull pains in your lower back yet may not have any detectable mechanical trouble, or you may feel numbness or irritation along one or both legs without having "slipped" an intervertebral disk. Accordingly, x-rays may show extensive damage within your spinal column yet you may not experience back discomfort at all.
Simply put, the greatest role you can play in assessing your back pain is by listening to your body. Only you know what you feel, and there is no combinations of experts, tests, or textbooks that can prove you otherwise. It is important to keep your senses awake, and to ask yourself questions such as the following:
Is my back pain interfering with my daily routine?
Am I losing sleep because of my back pain?
Have I limited my physical activities/movements because of my back pain?
Has my back pain compromised my relationships with others?
Do I feel depressed or anxious about my back pain?
If you have answered "yes" to any one of these questions, it would be wise to seek counseling from your naturopath or other health practitioner.
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