The Causes of Back Pain

Millions of Americans suffer from back pain. The costs associated with diagnostic procedures alone are estimated at $100 billion yearly. The personal costs from chronic pain are immeasurable-pain sometimes so great that it interferes with a healthy and satisfying lifestyle. The anatomy of the spine and the many conditions that negatively impact spinal health are complex. The following information provides a simple and straightforward explanation of the causes for back pain.

Factors that lead to back pain include trauma from an injury, repetitive stress, poor posture, failed-back surgery, arthritis and the natural course of aging. These can result in chronic conditions such as: degenerated disc disease, facet pathology, internal disc derangement, disc herniation, sacroiliac joint disorder, myofascial syndromes, post laminectomy and spine fusion syndromes.

Degenerative Disc Disease: It's Progressive

Healthy discs are so strong that the bone will break before a disc will tear. A healthy disc requires motion between the vertebrae to draw the vital fluids into the disc to keep it nourished. Spines consist of three major regions-cervical, thoracic and lumbar. Cushion-like discs lay in between each of the vertebrae; these discs allow the spine to bend and flex and to absorb stress on the spine.

Damage to the spine and soft tissue may cause discs to bulge, to narrow and to rupture allowing fluid to drain out. Any one of these conditions may cause impingement on nerves that run through the spinal column resulting in pain that ranges from mild to severe. As discs dry out or degenerate, they become brittle and can easily tear. In addition to back pain, disc degeneration causes symptoms, such as numbness or tingling that radiates down the legs to the feet or down the arms to the hands.