When Someone Has Reoccurring Back Pain

Back pain is one of the most common ailments that affects people throughout the world, 8 out of 10 people will experience back pain at some time during their life in the United States alone according to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. It seems that being able to identify key symptoms, causes, and solutions to minor--or chronic--back pain is essential, since it such a prevalent phenomenon. Luckily, though most people will experience some form of back pain throughout their life at some time, the pain they experience usually isn't serious enough to require surgery; most injuries usually heal within the order of a few weeks to a couple of months.
A common cause of back pain is a result of people bearing themselves with poor posture-- slouching while they sit, or shifting their weight from side to side while they are standing. When a person stands or sits in a bad posture, they put unnecessary strain upon their back's muscles, ligaments, and discs. This extra stress puts more of a wear upon their back, causing pain and making them more susceptible to further injuries and conditions; and if they continue to use a poor posture for an extended period of time, then the excessive strain they put upon their back may eventually cause deformities in its structure.
Back muscle strains and sprains are also a frequent source of pain. When someone strains their back, they have injured either a muscle or tendon--a fibrous tissue that connects muscle to bone-- of their back. Strains usually are the result of over-taxing the muscles of the back after they reach their limit of fatigue, or by overloading the muscles by trying to lift something too heavy for their current strength. On the other hand, a back sprain is a condition where someone has overstretched or tore a ligament of their back--a ligament is similar to a tendon, except that they connect two or more bones at a joint. Back sprains are commonly caused by a sudden twisting of the back, or by a sudden impact to the body when the spine hasn't braced itself for the impact.
According to the North American Spine Society's 2013 study, "Does Physical Activity Influence the Relationship Between Low Back Pain and Obesity", simply being overweight increases the risk of experiencing back pain. They found that overweight individuals' risk of experiencing back pain was 5.2%, nearly twice as much when compared to a normal weight person's risk of 2.9%. Obese and extremely obese individual's risk was only worse, with obese individual's risk being 7.7%, and extremely obese individual's risk being 11.6%. The cause of the increased risk of back pain for overweight individual's lies in the extra pressure that their weight puts on their back. This excess weight may cause painful discomfort, degenerative changes to your spine, and even herniated discs.
Thankfully, back pain is easily prevented by taking a few precautions. First off, make sure to always stand and sit in a correct posture in order to even out the weight distribution on your back and the rest of your body. When standing, keep your body level, head help up straight, and raise your chest until your shoulders fall back. Your feet should be planted shoulder width apart, and your back should be allowed to slightly curve into its natural shape. The correct posture for sitting is to have your feet planted flat on the ground and with your back erect; also, there should be proper support in the lumbar--lower--region of your back.
Exercise is crucial to maintain a healthy body and nice figure, but it also helps with back pain. As you exercise and develop your muscles, your back will become stronger and able to withstand more; in addition, your pain threshold will also increase. Two types of exercise should be included in anyone's routine in order to strengthen their back: cardiovascular and resistance training. When your improve your cardiovascular system by exercising it, your heart pumps blood more efficiently throughout your body to the muscles and tissues that need it--muscles that receive rich oxygenated blood perform better; hence, your back muscles will be better able to support you. Resistance training involves exercising with weights and bands to strengthen and develop your muscles. When trying to relieve back pain, it is best to focus on the core--back, abdominals, and legs.
Even with strong muscles many people still have back pain, this is where stretching helps. As you stretch your back muscles, you are insuring that they remain active, and are increasing their flexibility; and at the same time, you're improving the blood and nutrient flow throughout your body. Back stretches include extension and rotation stretches.
When someone has reoccurring pain in the back, then they may visit a chiropractor to get relief. A chiropractor focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of nervous and muscoskeletal system disorders, particularly in the spine; they also recognize the interaction between the two systems, and how helping one also helps the other as well. The methods in which they treat disorders are various, but the most well-known treatment is known as a "chiropractic adjustment", or simply a spinal manipulation. During a spinal manipulation, a trained chiropractor attempts to improve the mobility and flexibility of the joints by applying a targeted, sudden force to the joints. Other forms of treatment that chiropractors use include: lifestyle and exercise counseling, alternate hot and cold compresses, and deep tissue massages.