Back injuries

 It is one of the most common reasons people seek medical help or miss work.

Fortunately, we can prevent it when we are younger than 60 years old. We prevent it taking care of our back.

They can happen in any part of your back, but they most often happen in your lower back.

They cause pain and discomfort.

Most minor back injuries get better by themselves, so is important to keep our body active.

There are some risk factors that make a back injury more likely.

Common back injuries are:

  • Sprains and strains: Overstretch a muscle or tear a ligament of your back.
  • Herniated disk: When a spinal disc bulges out of shape and irritates a nerve.
  • Fractured vertebrae: A break of any of the bones in your back.
  • Spinal stenosis: The narrowing of the space where your spinal cord sits or of the small spaces where your nerves leave your spine.
  • Spondylolisthesis: one of your vertebrae slips forward, leaning on the vertebrae below, squashing the nerve between the two vertebrae.
Symptoms:

  • Pain or tenderness (sore to touch)
  • Pain that gets worse when you move, caugh, sneeze or laugh
  • Difficulty bending, walking or standing up straight
  • Muscle spams
  • Bruising
  • Swelling
  • Pain that radiates down your arms and legs
Some risk factors to develop a back injury are:

  • Age: It starts around 30 or 40 years old.
  • Lack of exercise: Weak, unused muscles in the back and abdomen might lead to back pain.
  • Excess weight: It puts extra stress on the back.
  • Diseases: Some types of artritis and cancer can contribute to back pain.
  • Improper lifting: Using the back instead of the legs can lead to back pain.
  • Psycological conditions: People prone to depression and anxiety appear to have a greater risk of back pain. Stress can cause muscle tension, which can contribute to back pain.
  • Smoking: Smokers have increased rates of back pain. This may occur because smoking causes caughing, which can lead to herniated disks. Smoking can also decrease blood flow to the spine and increase the risk of osteoporosis.

Links:

https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/back-injuries

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/back-pain/symptoms-causes/syc-20369906

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/spinal-cord-injury/symptoms-causes/syc-20377890

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