Lower Back Pain Causes: What Your Doctors Can’t Tell You
Lower back pain causes can be pretty confusing to a lot of people who suffer from this condition. “Do I have bulging discs?”, “Do I have arthritis?”, Or, more frightening, “Do I have cancer?” Are several of the questions that often come to mind when someone has pain in the lower back that comes on for no apparent reason.
One thing for sure is that most doctors can actually tell you if you have any of the conditions above by doing tests like x-rays or an MRI. But did you know that less than 5% of all painful low back cases are due to serious problems that require surgery or chemotherapy?
That’s right. Over 95% of lower back pain causes are because of “non-serious” conditions that don’t require surgery or other complicated medical management. That means that in most cases your doctor may send you home with a prescription for pain medication and tell you to “rest” your back until the problems decrease.
Although most doctors may realize that your pain is coming from muscle(s) strains, what they won’t be able to tell you is which muscles are strained and what you can do about them. This is because most doctors don’t have the kind of time to spend with you that will help you understand exactly what’s going on with your back.
This is why it would be beneficial for anyone with back pain to have a good understanding of how various muscles can affect your back and what to do about it when they do.
You may not be aware of it, but, many of the muscles that can really contribute to a lot of these problems aren’t located in your low back at all. Some people will give you the impression that it’s your stomach muscles that will cause a lot of back pain. But this is not 100% accurate either.
Your leg, hip, and internal pelvis muscles will all affect how your back feels and functions. Many times it’s a combination of several muscle groups that cause a sort of “domino effect” and give you the feeling that something is seriously wrong with your back and cause a lot of confusion about where your pain is actually coming from.
You may know of someone who has back pain and have gone through several of the tests to find the cause. They’ve had an MRI study done. They’ve had x-rays done. They have gone through all the lab tests. And, their doctor says that all the tests are “negative”. What this means is that the tests didn’t find anything significant that could be causing the painful problem.
This happens to 1000s of people everyday. They know that they have back pain, but their doctors tell them that they can find no reason for it. Sometimes people leave the doctor’s office feeling like the problem is “all in their heads”.
This is unfortunate because what people aren’t told is that “muscle strains” don’t show up on any test. You heard me right. You could have muscles that are tied in a huge knot and they won’t show up on any test. But many doctor’s fail to tell their patients this simple fact.
If you or someone you know have had the experience of having negative test results for your lower back discomfort, but it continues to bother you, it may be helpful if you asked your doctor about which muscles might be causing your problems. A good physical therapist could also help answer these types of questions.
Remember, over 95% of most back pain cases are due to low back pain causes that are not serious.
Back Pain Relief in 3 Easy Steps
For most back pain relief is a dream, you live with pain constantly or repeating so often you can’t remember when you were once pain free and able to enjoy life fully. This brief article is going to offer some help, a simple technique you can use at home to help ease some of your pain.
But I want you to also understand the 3 easy steps to get long lasting relief. Sure you are like everyone else and want a quick solution. One that requires no effort, no time and costs nothing.
Unfortunately I will disappoint you, as there is no such cure and it would be criminal of me to offer one. However, there is an easy solution that requires only a few minutes each day. Best of all long term all you need to do is reassess your spine each month (or possibly every 2 weeks as it only takes a minute to check it) to make sure you remain in balance.
But first that simple technique I promised you…
Most back pain no matter where it is, is created by muscle tension. Reducing muscle tension quickly can actually help reduce pain. But long term back pain relief still requires a bit more, not much but more to make sure every cause has been eliminated.
For now though, to reduce muscle tension there are a few methods. You could try stretching but if your muscles are really tight this may actually aggravate the pain. So one of the simplest techniques is using Acupressure.
Acupressure has been used for many years effectively to reduce pain and help muscles to reduce in tension. Yes it is from the east, but it is also proven to work. You no doubt have tried many ways to ease your pain, what is one more thing to try – especially if it works.
But as I warn all my clients, this technique will not work for everyone, which is why we teach 16 various techniques inside our X-Pain Method to help ease pain. Relief of back pain is important, in fact it is one of those 3 easy steps I mentioned we will get to.
To help ease some of your pain now though use the following technique. Please remember, to stimulate an Acupressure point you need to:
- Press the point firmly, it may be tender so you can reduce the pressure if very tender.
- Press and rub in a small circular motion for about 20 seconds and then relax.
- Repeat this 3 times with a 20-30 second break in between times.
- You can do this often during the day or until pain eases.
Okay, there is an Acupressure point on the inside of your ankle which will help with back pain no matter where it is. All you do is place a knuckle or your finger tip between your inner ankle bone and Achilles tendon (the large tendon running from your heel bone to calf muscle).
Apply pressure, rub in that circular motion for 20 seconds, relax and repeat a few more times. This should help to reduce pain and will even help muscles relax.
Try it and see how you go, if you don’t get relief then you will need to use other techniques to help ease pain. But as I said there are many simple techniques you can try to achieve temporary relief.
However long term back pain relief requires 3 easy steps…
The first step is actually the simplest in that it only takes a minute. The first step is working out which type of imbalance you have. There are 4 main types and each will case a distortion in your spine that allows pain to develop.
Working out which imbalance you have is essential as it allows you to target the right muscles. Get the wrong pattern and you can be stretching, strengthening and targeting the wrong areas – and remaining in pain longer than you should.
The second step is removing pain. Getting at least temporary relief from back pain is important for many reasons. The biggest reason is that nobody likes to be in pain, the second reason is that your body heals faster when pain free – which is important for the final step.
The last step is actually re-balancing your spine, removing the imbalance you detect in the first step. Now this may sound a difficult task, but all it requires is a few minutes each day (for most less than 20 minutes) until the spine re-balances – which can be in a matter of a week or few.
Then each month (or more if you wish) you repeat step one to make sure those balances remain. If not simply reapply step 3 because most times you will see the imbalance before pain arrives, hence becoming better at preventing – which is easier and more enjoyable as you remain pain free.
So apply the technique above but please make sure you follow the 3 easy steps for back pain relief – life does become more enjoyable being free of back pain.
Your Child and Self Diagnosis for Scoliosis
It is understandable that a parent may feel a little distressed if they believe that their child has scoliosis, however it is vitally important that you know the difference between a self diagnosis and that carried out by a physician.
Scoliosis is a condition of the spine that can cause great discomfort and stress to the sufferer. The curving of the spine is something that can affect young people from a relatively early age, and cause great self conscious embarrassment and anxiety. This is the reason why so many people opt to have a screening for it as early as possible. This article looks at ways in which scoliosis is screened for, and how you can even make some attempt to carry out a self screening process, one that may even do as good a job as that which the medical professional will do. It must be stated that if you do opt for any kind of self screening process, it is important that you also gain the advice of a medical professional. This kind of advice can never be substituted for your own assessment, so it is vital that you follow up any self screening with a visit to your local physician if you are concerned about scoliosis.
Scoliosis can greatly affect the flexibility of the sufferer, and even, when cases are more severe, affect the free movement of the sufferer. This can be extremely distressing and cause all sorts of problems for the mental wellbeing of the patient. Since scoliosis is basically an abnormal curve to the back, it is relatively easy to know when it is occurring. If one looks at a person’s back from slightly above or, better still, directly above, you will be able to notice the curvature.
The first thing you should do for your child is go for a physical examination. Doctors are of course the first recommended port of call for this aspect of the treatment plan, and it is advisable that you take yourself to the physician for this initial consultation. However, once you realise that all this entails is being shirtless and bending forward prior to the medical examination, one can see how it can be done by someone at home.
Essentially, any physician is looking for any abnormal variations when it comes to the length and curvature of the spine. Children are especially open to screening, because the effect of scoliosis is pronounced in younger bodies, and this is why children are often screened in this way at school. With the permission of the parents, the child undergoes the examination. Since discomfort and strain is often a common sign of scoliosis when a sufferer bends forward, it can be quite easy to note what is potentially a sign of the condition. Parents do obviously have to be involved and often request an examination themselves for their child. It can be a little upsetting for a child, but it is often best to check at an early age.
Once a suspected case of scoliosis has been made clear from the physician (or if you think that you have the condition), then it is important that the next stage is proceeded towards as quickly as possible, this is where the x-ray comes into play.
Having an x-ray is vital when it comes to ascertaining if there is indeed a scoliosis case to deal with. As you can understand, if such a condition is suspected, then the x-ray is there to back up the examination with the picture of the condition. This is the best way to get a clear an accurate picture of the extent of the curvature of the spine. This is something that you cannot adequately do in the home environment, so it is most definitely the next stage after the initial examination. So if you are at the stage where you have checked the spine of your child, for example, and you suspect a clear case of scoliosis, then you should now move towards the point where you use x-ray technology to gain a full and clear picture of the problem.
A full diagnosis can only really be made once the physician has carried out the physical examination, and backed this up with the x-ray pictures. Add to this the taking of a full medical history, and you have a complete diagnosis of scoliosis of the spine.
The medical history is an important part of the picture. Once the physician has this to hand and the other factors, then they can make a full diagnosis. Then treatment can proceed.
Treatment of any kind will only really be offered if the curvature of the spine is deemed to be significant. This means that it is pronounced and causing enough discomfort to the sufferer that it will debilitate them in the future f not at the pint of diagnosis. The general benchmark as regards ‘significant’ is if the curvature is 25 degrees.
So there you have it. By all means take the opportunity to diagnoses scoliosis at home. There is nothing wrong with this. In fact, many medical conditions are diagnosed or at least suspected by people before they approach medical professionals. However, as this article explains, having a full diagnosis done by physicians helps to assess the depth of the problem, and therefore the move towards treatment.
If your child is suffering from what you believe to be scoliosis, it shouldn’t be too hard to notice as you go about your caring for them. But general medical treatment, whichever country you are in, is not always guaranteed. Remember that the 25 degrees benchmark is a general one for most practitioners and healthcare providers, and if your child falls below this, other treatments may be an option.
