Back pain is a common health issue today that affects at least eight out of 10 people. It is a prevalent problem among Americans. In fact, statistics from the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) reveal that at least 31 million Americans experience lower back pain at any given time.
The ACA report also says that:
- One-half of all working Americans admit to having back pain symptoms each year.
- Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work. In fact, it is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office (next to upper-respiratory infections).
- As many as 75 to 85 percent of the population will experience a back problem at some time in their lives. In most cases, this pain is mechanical in nature – it is NOT caused by a serious medical condition, such as inflammatory arthritis or fracture.
Chronic back pain has become such a debilitating problem – and it’s costly, too. According to the ACA, Americans spend at least 86 billion dollars each year on back pain—and that’s just for the more easily identified costs!
I cannot stress enough that preventing or treating disease is possible without the intervention of medications. The same is true for back pain. You only need to address the root cause of the problem by changing your lifestyle and the way you eat and move.
Below is a discussion of the potential causes of back pain, my recommendations for back pain treatment, and how you can alleviate this problem without putting any additional burden on your health.
What Are the Common Causes of Back Pain?
Accidents and sports injuries are the most common causes of chronic back pain. But sometimes, even simple activities or movements – like bending over to pick up an object from the floor – can trigger pain.
There are also a number of other factors that can increase your risk of back pain, such as:
Poor posture Poor physical conditioning facilitated by inactivity Internal disease, such as kidney stones, infections, blood clots Obesity – According to a study posted in theJournal of American Epidemiology, overweight and obese people had a higher prevalence of low back pain than non-overweight individuals.1 Psychological/emotional stress Osteoporosis or bone loss (as measured by the Z-score and not the young adult-based T-score)
A Sedentary Lifestyle and Too Much Sitting Put You at Risk of Back Pain – and Much More
There is one common denominator among most patients who suffer from severe cases of chronic pain: sedentary lifestyle. A majority of back, neck, and other muscle pains are related to imbalanced distribution of force throughout your body, which is created by working or staying in unnatural positions for extended periods.
What’s more, prolonged sitting and poor posture are major risk factors of not only back pain, but also of weight gain, obesity, joint problems, nerve problems like carpal tunnel syndrome, and other debilitating diseases. In fact, mounting research found that prolonged sitting is now an independent risk factor for poor health and premature death—even if you exercise regularly!
To learn more about the dangers of too much sitting and the importance of regularly getting out of your chair, I recommend you to see my interview with Dr. Joan Vernikos, author of Sitting Kills, Moving Heals and former director of NASA’s Life Sciences Division. Dr. Vernikos, who was one of the primary doctors that ensured the health of the astronauts as they went into space, gives a very intensive explanation on how you can simply and easily counteract the ill effects of sitting.
By Dr. Mercola
2015
Continue reading the full article from Mercola here
