If you’ve ever called in sick at work because of debilitating back pain, you’re certainly not alone. In fact, back pain makes up 264 million lost days of work per year in the U.S. alone.
The reason why back pain is so common boils down to the structure of the spine and the load it bears on a daily basis. But back pain does not look the same for everyone. The different types of back pain and their origins are extremely personal.
Let’s take a deeper dive into common kinds of back pain and what your spine could be telling you.
Common Types of Back Pain to Worry About: Nerve PainÂ
This type of pain is also referred to as radiating pain.
The name refers to how the pain travels — shooting away from the spine, and radiating down a particular nerve path.
Most of the time, nerve pain stems from the lumbar spine, which then extends down the legs. It can also stem from the cervical spine, which then extends down the arms and into the hands.
One of the most common causes of nerve pain includes spinal disc herniation. Sciatica tends to be one of the most common nerve pain complaints today.
Muscle and Ligament Sprains
While it’s definitely more common to sprain or strain a muscle or ligament in your ankle, it can also happen in your back.
Strains cause irritation of the muscle and tendon attached to the bones in the spine. While sprains cause injury to ligaments and tough tissue that bond your bones together.
Some of the most common areas of the back that you can strain include:
- The trapezius muscle
- The rhomboid
- The erectors spinae
- The latissimus dorsi
The hallmark symptom of muscle strain or sprain is feeling pain with movement in that particular muscle. The best way to determine the cause of your back pain is with a chiropractor consultation before you self-diagnose.
Bone Fractures and Spurs
While this type of cause for back pain is the least common, it can be one of the most debilitating.
In reality, a bone fracture would be an extremely obvious and overbearing type of pain. You might not be able to move and it’s often the result of some kind of trauma to the spine.
However, there are certain medical conditions that can also cause a deep kind of ache, characterized by bone fractures and spurs.
Some of the most common medical conditions include osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.
These conditions wear down the cartilage between the bones of the spine, causing them to grind against one another. This can result in serious bone degeneration, fractures, and spurs.
There are also certain types of cancer, and leukemia that can cause this type of bone degeneration and pain.
Postural Back PainÂ
In today’s day and age, one of the most common causes of back pain is postural. This is because we tend to spend a good chunk of our day hunched over a desk or a cellphone.
Postural pain can also result from repetitive strain while performing a certain task for hours on end, i.e. packing boxes.
You might feel an intense, nagging pain in your back or neck due to the strain on the muscles in this area. Luckily, this type of back pain treatment is simple and includes regular physiotherapy or chiropractic adjustment.
Inflammatory PainÂ
It’s no secret that inflammation is the catalyst for a huge assortment of aches and pains in the body. Inflammatory back pain might not be as common as mechanical back pain, but it’s still debilitating.
This type of pain results from inflammation in the spinal joints. There are several conditions responsible for this, such as ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Take Control of Your HealthÂ
If you’ve been wondering, ”Why does my back hurt so much?”, then hopefully, this blog is helpful in some way. Recognizing these different types of back pain can help you seek out the right treatment when you need it.
If this blog has inspired you to take control of your health, be sure to explore the rest of this site for more!
