Cellulite Solutions | Beating Allergies | Pregnancy Guide | Back Pain | Sleep Deep

Back Pain

IT'S NOT UNUSUAL

You're not miserable alone. More than two-thirds of people get low back pain at some time in their lives. It's most common in 35- to 55-year-olds. About one in 12 adults go to see their family doctor about their back pain in any one year. It's funny, but when you've got back pain everyone has a story to tell you about theirs too.

HOW DOES YOUR SPINE WORK?

Let's get the difficult stuff over with. Your spine is a column of 33 bones, the vertebrae. These form the basic structure of the spine. The vertebrae are stacked neatly on top of one another like interlocking bricks. You have 7 cervical vertebrae in your neck, with the top one linking to your skull, 12 thoracic vertebrae in your chest, 5 large lumbar vertebrae in your mid/low back, 5 sacral vertebrae in your low back, linking your spine to your pelvic girdle, and 4 bones in your coccyx. They join together in a series of curves that give your spine strength and flexibility. And wow, do you need that strength!

The vertebral bodies are the main load-bearing part of your spine. Muscles and ligaments are attached too. The ligaments are tough fibres which are there to keep everything in place. Bony arches extend from the back of the vertebrae to form the spinal canal. This is a sort of protective tunnel running the length of your spine and down which nerves pass from your brain to the rest of your body. Nerves emerge from gaps between each pair of bones to supply your muscles and carry sensation to your brain. The nerves to the legs emerge from the lumbar-sacral part of the spine. Some of these join to make up the bundle of nerve fibres known as the sciatic nerve, which supplies the leg and foot.

Between the bones are the intervertebral discs, which cushion your spine from jarring and enable it to move even when you're carrying a weight. The intervertebral discs make up about a quarter of the height of the spine. Discs come in two parts: a central jelly, which supports the weight, and a series of concentric rings which keep the jelly in place. Behind the disc is a notch through which the nerve passes, and behind this is a 'facet' joint, which allows one bone to move on another. All the bones are joined together by ligaments.

Major muscle groups also support and stabilise the spine. These are responsible for providing the spine with the power to flex, extend, twist and bend sideways.

And so ends today's lesson on anatomy.

WHAT IS BACK PAIN?

Most back pain comes from the muscles, ligaments and joints in your back. When and where you get back pain depends on what the cause is, whether the pain arises from the spine, ligaments and muscles around, or whether a nerve is trapped at its root, which can cause pain along its length, like sciatica.

'Low back pain' is what you feel in the small of your back. 'Acute' lasts for six weeks or less; if it lasts longer than that, it's 'chronic' - ouch! Unfortunately it's common for back pain to recur over the years.

HOW ARE YOU GETTING ON?

As you get older, the water content of your intervertebral discs decreases, causing the discs to narrow. They become less able to stand up to wear and tear and are more easily damaged. If they don't hold the vertebrae far enough apart, the nerves may be squashed where they emerge from your spine, causing you pain, numbness or pins and needles. Your spine also becomes less flexible as you grow older and is more likely to be strained.

Occasionally a nerve can become trapped by part of the disc between the bones of the spine oozing out and squashing it. Being in a bent-forwards posture for a long time or lifting with a bent back can cause the central jelly of the disc to move backwards as pressure is put on the front of the disc. This type of problem usually gets better on its own as the jelly gets sucked back into place when the pressure is removed.


Custom Search