In most of the situations back-pain is a benign condition and often related to aging of the different elements composing the spine. In some situations, back-pain might appear more frequently:
Lack of movement
Regular lifting of heavy weight (as in some professions)
Overweight
Static disorders of the spine: e.g. scoliosis
Muscular insufficiency (specially of the belly)
By avoiding these factors many painful situations can be prevented or relieved.
Lumbago Is a sharp and sudden pain appearing while doing a harmless everyday movement, very often combining flexion and rotation. Its underlying cause is an acute contraction of muscles of the spine. Even though in can be very painful it is a benign condition.
If this type of acute pain appears in older people a compression fracture of a vertebra must be considered.
It’s the protrusion of the intervertebral disc into the spinal canal, i.e. the space where the nerves are located. This happens because the disc is altered by aging processes. Depending on the level of the protrusion the disc can push either on the spine marrow or on nerve roots causing a variety of symptoms, most often sciatica. Most of the time symptoms can be cured with conservative measures, i.e. without surgery. Surgical interventions are indicated in case of paralysis or otherwise untreatable pain.
NB.: from the thirties on a growing proportion of the population presents pathological alterations of the spinal structures without being aware of it.
It’s the reduction of the space dedicated to nerval structures in the spine related to the thickening of ligaments and the broadening of the small joints between the vertebrae. This mostly happens in the lumbar or the cervical spine, i.e. the most mobile segments. In the lumbar spine the most common symptom is intermittent claudication which means that the patient can walk only a certain distance and must stop regularly to recover from pain. In the cervical spine the symptoms are much more variable, ranging from paresthesia in the hands to difficulties to walk.
The aim of the treatment of pain related to aging of the spine is pain-relief. In most situations surgery is not necessary, and treatment consists in a combination of regular physical activity, pain medication, osteopathy, physiotherapy or peridural injections, according to the situation.
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