By Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie
This week we have cause to return to the topic of back pain because many readers continue to ask questions related to this topic. Last year, we did a two-part essay on lower back pain and also did another one on upper back pain. And the conclusion in both cases was that there are sometimes very specific causes of back pain. Research estimates that approximately 80 per cent of the population worldwide experience back pain at some point in their lives.
Here are a few tips on how to avoid this problem whose presence can range from a nuisance to a crippling problem with associated disability in some instances. To begin with, it is absolutely important to stay fit. The progressive weakening of abdominal muscles and those supporting the spine can be one of the major causes of back aches. These muscles lack mobility with advancing age and can be responsible for initiating the disease condition as well as its recurrence. This is often due to gradual degeneration in the quality of these muscles in a background of advancing age. It is recommended that people undertake an exercise regimen to try and prevent these changes from occurring or at least to slow them down. Exercise, particularly involving the back, abdominal, and buttocks muscles, strengthens all of those muscle groups.
Improved support to the vertebral column, obtained through such exercises as stretching and yoga has also proved to be beneficial in reducing the risk of muscle injury, thereby further decreasing the chances of sprains. Aerobic activities such as walking, swimming, or cycling are known to improve lower back function. As a direct result of the benefits accruing from all the recommended activities above, every person must seek to maintain a healthy weight. Excessive kilograms in weight, especially around the waist, add additional mechanical stress to the spine and also the lower back. When a person is obese, the added weight causes the spine to shift excessively inwards, which causes an increased strain on the back muscles. That in turn later presents as severe pain in the back. Such pain may therefore range from a dull persistent ache to a sharp, intense pain that can be incapacitating to such a degree that a full-grown adult sufferer may be unable to stand erect or walk. In some other people, such pain may be chronic and long-lasting to the point of genuine misery and inability to do any productive work especially if there is associated muscle wasting. Therefore, the focus of this essay is to examine ways in which this kind of pain can be prevented or mitigated.
As a general rule, it is vital to quit smoking. Cigarette smoking is not only detrimental to your heart and lungs but also to your spine. This advice is particularly important in our constantly changing national environment, in which the youths especially, now see cigarette smoking as a way of life or as a definition of their ascendant social status. Several studies reveal that smokers have a lot to lose in terms of their overall health, but in particular, about the status of their spine. Firstly, it causes arterial constriction and reduces blood flow to the vertebrae and vertebral disks, causing a reduction in the bones’ density and the integrity of the disc spaces. Moreover, nicotine also decreases bone density via direct action and stimulates the destruction of the spinal tissue, making backache even worse.
