Rectifying Humankind’s Crippling Crisis
Everyone has their own meaningful goals and aspirations to work towards, but no matter how determined a person may be, various obstacles can hinder or completely prevent fulfilling them. Such an obstacle is back pain; at times it may only be a minor inconvenience, but in reality, it is “the single leading cause of disability, preventing many people from engaging in work as well as other everyday activities” (“Back Pain Facts And Statistics”). When considering the prominence of unhealthy work conditions and practices in modern office environments, such problems continue to linger and harm the prosperity of humankind. To mitigate this global affliction, it is crucial to understand the causes, prevention, and treatment of back pain.
The first step in solving a problem is to understand the root cause of it. In most cases, back pain derives from various physical deformities and medical conditions. For instance, sprains and strains in the lower spine can cause painful swelling in the lower back region; reasons for such swelling include sudden movements and extensive upper-body labour. Furthermore, people can be more susceptible to back pain due to spinal degeneration, the natural deterioration of one’s spine structure associated with the ageing process, or osteoporosis, a medical condition where the body fails to completely replace decomposing bone surfaces. Lastly, deformations of the spine like scoliosis may develop before puberty, which can result in irregular pains and nerve interactions that induce irregular back pain. After understanding the causes of back pain, people can utilize such knowledge to adopt healthy habits for prevention.
Different cautionary measures can effectively mitigate the possibility and severity of back pain. On top of promoting overall wellness, exercising the back muscles can help strengthen and stretch them, alleviating the spine from excessive lifting while allowing for wider ranges of motion. By adopting proper posture, we can further minimize the strain placed on the spine and related muscles, which is crucial for long-term sitting or standing situations. A good practice is to maintain an upright position with a pillow for lumbar support when sitting. Aside from physical practices, proper nutrition is also as important; aside from the well-renowned recommendation of calcium and milk, foods such as leafy green vegetables, non-animal proteins, and turmeric can help refine bone density and reduce inflammation. Although prevention helps lessen the risk of back pain, it does not completely avert it.
Knowing the forms of treatment for back pain helps accommodate for any unexpected occurrences. Treatment varies on the severity of the pain, so practices can range from simply taking pain medication to extensive surgeries. Medication can be obtained over-the-counter or through prescriptions for alleviating pain. A common ingredient in iconic painkillers such as Tylenol is acetaminophen, a drug that increases one’s pain threshold while also promoting anti-inflammatory benefits. Although medication can help with numbing the pain, physical treatments like massage therapy and chiropractic care are solutions that help attend to the root problem. Massage therapists can help reinvigorate and loosen sore back muscles through muscle manipulation, allowing for increased blood flow and less tension. Contrary, chiropractors focus on restoring a patient’s spine and posture through spinal manipulation and recommended at-home exercises. Both treatments effectively alleviate moderate back pain but are not recommended as a frequent remedy due to their time-related and financial costs. However, for rather persistent and extreme cases, surgery is used as a last resort. Depending on the cause of back pain, the objective of surgeries can range from spinal fusion, the merging of vertebrae to eliminate pain-inducing spinal movement, to a discectomy, which aims to remove unnecessary pressure placed onto nerve roots or the spine caused by herniated disks. When treating back pain, it is important to know the pros and cons of the different forms of treatment to choose something that best fits the situation.
Through the intricate understanding of back pain’s causes, prevention, and treatment, individuals can help mitigate the global problem of back pain. By being informed of the root causes, people become critically aware of how certain behaviours can be a culprit to their pain. Through the adoption of healthy prevention practices, people can replace previously harmful behaviours to lessen the occurrence and effect of back pain. Lastly, recognizing the different forms of treatment expands the possible solutions, allowing a person to choose the remedy best fit for their needs. Exploring these three areas alters the perception of back pain being some complex enigma that burdens a person’s everyday life. Instead, it becomes a conscious obligation to better understand and attend to not only one’s spine and back, but one’s overall wellness. As a result, other burdening ailments begin to be acknowledged and treated, allowing for people to no longer be distracted from the things they are most passionate about.
References
“Back Pain Facts And Statistics”. American Chiropractic Association, 2021, https://www.acatoday.org/Patients/What-is-Chiropractic/Back-Pain-Facts-and-Statistics.