Back Pain

If you’ve ever suffered from back pain, know that you’re not alone. An estimated 540 million people suffer from back pain at any given moment, with 80% of Americans experiencing back pain at least one time in their life. Back pain is one of the most common medical problems in the U.S., and there is no shortage of causes and treatments. This is why it’s so important to place your trust in the California Pain Consultants team of pain management specialists in the Escondido, El Centro, La Mesa, San Diego, Chula Vista areas who know not only how to expertly diagnose the cause of your particular back pain, but also the best way to treat your causes so you can experience a pain free life as quickly and for as long as possible. 

What Does Back Pain Feel Like? 

Back pain unfortunately occurs as a range of pain sensations. For those who have experienced a traumatic injury, either a car accident, fall, or lifting something too heavy for an exercise or otherwise, they know that back pain can be felt immediately and as a sharp pain. For others, back pain can be felt as more of a constant ache that can be felt in the back as well as down the leg(s). Back pain can also occur over time, possibly due to age-related degenerative factors in the back and spine, as well as arthritis disorders or varying medical conditions. 

Most often, men and women equally feel pain during their 20s to 40s. While most back pain resolves itself in a few days, some cases require medical attention or even surgical methods to resolve the cause of pain. While there are numerous reasons why back pain can be felt, the below factors contribute to the possibility of experiencing back pain, as well as the possibility of delayed healing: 

• Unhealthy diet
• Lack of exercise
• Overuse of alcohol, drugs and tobacco products
• Being overweight or obese
• Overuse of the back muscles, including extreme physical exercise

While there is a very good chance that you or someone you know will experience back pain, each pain exposure will vary person to person. So while one might feel stabbing pain that limits their mobility, another person’s pain could be described as constantly dull and aching regardless of their level of activity. 

Back pain is generally described as three different types: 

• Acute: happens suddenly and lasts anywhere from a few days to a few weeks
• Subacute: pain that gradually increases over time and lasts anywhere from a month to a few months
• Chronic: pain that occurs quickly or slowly, and is felt daily for three months or longer

While back pain most often stems from the back, either from one specific spot or the entire back, the feeling of pain can be experienced throughout the body. Many patients even report feeling pain in their legs, buttock or abdomen. Regardless of the main source, cause or particular level of pain, most patients report experiencing pain: 

• That increases with lifting, bending and stretching
• That worsens when sitting for a while and then moving, as well as being stationary for long periods of time
• Comes and goes, regardless of movement or activity level
• That is felt throughout other parts of the body 
• That creates a feeling of numbness or weakness in the legs or feet, creating mobility issues
• That is felt most in the morning after waking up and could decrease with daily activity

Who Gets Back Pain?

Almost everyone you know, including yourself! Anyone, regardless of age, activity level and health history, has a great chance of experiencing some form of back pain at some point in their life. However, there are several factors that can increase a person’s risk of experiencing back pain, including: 

• Frequency and type of exercise: Back pain most often occurs in people who are not physically fit, meaning that weak back muscles and core muscles don’t adequately provide enough support for certain workouts, especially after periods of being inactive. Additionally, if a person attempts more strenuous exercise than used to, this could cause an injury that could lead to sudden back pain. 
• Being overweight: gaining weight or maintaining a more heavy weight than is suitable for your body, as well as leading an inactive life, could lead to additional stress placed on the back, which leads to back pain. 
• Stressful lifestyle: patients who are suffering with depression, poor sleeping habits and/or anxiety can experience more frequent and more severe back pain. 
• Situational risk factors: if your job requires undo stress on your body, possibly due to physically-demanding lifting, stretching, pushing or pulling, or even a job that requires you to sit for extended periods of time, or you are forcing a workout regimen that might be too much for your body, this all could lead to back injuries. 
• Family history: heredity can play an important role in genetically-caused back pain. 
• Age: while anyone can experience back pain, the chances of suffering from back pain increase with age. 

While back pain is common, it’s important to not take it lightly. If your pain is severe,  lasts more than a few weeks, or gets worse over time, it’s important to reach out to your medical provider to ensure that there isn’t something more serious going on. The California Pain Consultants team works with each individual patient to learn more about his/her lifestyle to accurately diagnose the cause of the pain, as well as to recommend a treatment that fits with each patient’s lifestyle and physical goals. 

What Causes Back Pain? 

Back pain can be caused by several different factors, which can occur independently or simultaneously to result in chronic back pain. Back pain symptoms can affect lower, mid or upper back, and can include physical trauma, mechanical/structural causes or medical disorder. There could also be no specific cause for back pain, which is what makes diagnosing the source or sources of pain so important for finding the proper treatment. 

The majority of acute back pain can be attributed to physical trauma, such as car accidents, stress or strain on the back muscles or spine, as well as work- and exercise-related injuries. However, there are several ways that mechanical/structural causes back pain, which is most often pinpointed to developments in the spine, muscles, ligaments or tendons in the back that have led to a compressed nerve. These are described as local back pain. Then, there are causes of radiating back pain, which is pain from a problem in an organ that feels like, or spreads, to an area in the back, making the patient feel like the pain is actually caused from something in the back. 

Examples of local back pain most often include: 

• Ankylosing spondylitis (inflammation in the joints and ligaments of the spine)
• Arthritis 
• Degenerative spondylolisthesis (vertebral slip due to degenerative changes)
• Intervertebral disk degeneration (osteoarthritis of the spine)
• Radiculopathy (injury or damage to nerve roots)
• Sacroiliac joint dysfunction (pain due to sacroiliac joint)
• Spinal disk degeneration (cushioning of the spine wears away)
• Spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal)
• Spondylolisthesis (bones in the spine slip forward)
• Trauma/injury
• Tumor that grows/pushes on the spine
• Examples of radiating back pain most often include: 
• Abdominal aortic aneurysms (the aorta weakens and bulges)
• Appendicitis
• Cancers (very rare)
• Fibromyalgia (chronic, widespread muscle pain)
• Myofascial pain syndrome (chronic muscle pain disorder)
• Infections (very rare)
• Gallbladder inflammation
• Kidney infection/kidney stones
• Liver problems
• Pancreatitis
• Pelvic inflammatory diseases 
• Perforating stomach ulcers

If you are experiencing back pain that continues to get worse, or begins to radiate throughout other parts of your body, it’s time to reach out to your pain management specialist. It’s especially important to note any additional problems associated with your back pain, including fever, weakness, tingling, numbing, loss of bladder/bowel control, and weight loss because these might be signs you’ll need immediate care and possibly surgery. 

How is Back Pain Diagnosed?

The best way to diagnose your back pain is to reach out to a medical provider. The anatomy of the back is complex, so it’s not as simple as “it hurts here” situation, with only one possible avenue for treatment. 

There are many different structures in the back that work together to help support the body and our ability to move, lift, twist, sit, stand, etc. Issues with any of these important structures can lead to pain. Firstly, we have our spine, which is made up of the cervical spine (upper), thoracic spine (middle), lumbar spine (lower), as well as the sacrum (base of spine/pelvis) and coccyx (tailbone). 

The parts of the spine and back include the vertebrae (bones that protect the spinal cord), spinal cord (nerves that run down the back through the vertebrae), intervertebral discs (pads between the vertebrae that help to cushion and absorb shock), ligaments (tissue that hold the vertebrae in place), tendons (tissue that connects muscle to bone) and muscles (fibers that support the upper back and spine and help the body to move). 

A pain management specialist will review your medical history as well as provide a comprehensive exam to evaluate all the aforementioned structures in the back and spine to evaluate the possible source of pain. He/she might also ask you a series of questions, including: 

• When do you experience pain? 
• How long does the pain typically last? 
• Do you have any other symptoms? 
• What hobbies or exercises do you enjoy? 
• What at-home treatment methods have you tried?
• Does back pain run in your family?

Additional diagnostic tools might include X-rays, MRI or CT scan to look deeper into the body to see if there is any damage and where. Because there are so many different opportunities for pain to develop, and so many opportunities for it to become worse if not treated, it’s important to have a medically-trained specialist who can expertly review all the moving parts to diagnose the best course of treatment available. 

Watch as Dr. Cohen Gives Insights on Post Surgical Back Pain