Managing and Relieving Back Pain

Back injuries and the resulting sciatica and back pain reportedy afflict eighty percent of the population of the United States at some point in their life. Not all of these problems will require extended treatment, but back problems are invariably painful.

Managing and relieving sciatica and back pain can be a complicated process. The experience of pain is subjective. Health providers who treat back pain find it challenging to obtain the objective or measurable signs that verify and diagnose a patient's painful back symptoms.

Additionally, everyone experiences pain differently. Pain descriptors encompass numerous adjectives - dull, sharp, throbbing, pulsating, stabbing and shock-like, just to name a few. Individuals describe and experience pain with such wide variation partly due to its differing and complex origins. Pain actually originates from numerous places in the body, such as muscles, bones, nerves, organs or blood vessels.

Pain is classified as acute or chronic. The word "acute" derives from the Latin word for needles and is usually described as a severe, sharp sensation. The initial stage of an injury is called the acute phase.

The word "chronic", on the other hand, originated from the Greek word for time. Chronic pain is pain that persists for a length of time, often months to years. Many back injuries tend to become chronic, especially when not treated properly during the acute phase. Chronic pain is often experienced as a dull ache or constant nagging irritant.

Acute and chronic pain sensations travel different nervous system pathways inside the body. When you injure muscles or ligaments in your back, nerve endings called pain receptors pick up the pain impulses and transmit them to the spinal cord. From here, the pain message ascends to the brain. This process takes place at varying rates of speed depending on the size of the nerve fiber involved.

Acute pain tends to travel on faster, larger diameter fibers, while chronic pain prefers smaller, slower pain fibers. Experts suggest that chronic pain affects the brain's limbic system, which is associated with emotional states. Anyone who has ever had a long-term painful injury knows that negative or distressing emotions may accompany or perpetuate the initial injury.

The best way to treat chronic back pain syndromes is to prevent them. Although proficient early treatment does not always prevent an acute injury from turning into a chronic problem, it is a good insurance policy. Early treatment is especially important when dealing with injuries to the soft tissues (muscles, tendons and ligaments) to prevent them from becoming weaker, less elastic and more pain-sensitive.

An excellent way to treat both acute and chronic soft tissue injuries is a hands-on approach that works to repair the injured tissues. Some examples are joint and soft tissue manipulation and mobilization, typically performed by a doctor of chiropractic or osteopath. Other good options are massage and physical therapy. A formal rehabilitation program at a health club or therapy clinic may also help to strengthen weakened and damaged muscles, especially the core stabilizers of the back.

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