Back pains are common among adults. In fact, four out of five persons experience these symptoms. Most adults experience pain on their lower backs at least twice in their lifetime.

Our spinal cord at the back is a complex structure. It is composed of 33 vertebras and more than 30 muscles. It has a lot of ligaments, inter-verbal discs and multiple joints. These structures are harmed in a back injury.

The common causes of back pains are due to various muscle strains. Muscle strains occur when a sudden force, pull or twist is applied on the numerous muscles found at the back of our body. It will result with quite a few tears on the muscle. These tears cause a great amount of pain felt on our back side.

Another common cause of back pains is ligamentous sprains. From the root word ligaments, it means that the ligaments on our backs are stretched beyond capacity, causing tremendous pain. These sprains also occur along with various muscle strains.

Yet another cause of back pains is the herniated discs. This works when the nerves in our spine are compressed at their exit point in the spinal column. It results to a repeated vibratory motion. It is commonly experienced by truck drivers and machine users.

Moreover, it is said that it occurs when the person applies improper lifting or a sudden loading of heavy materials on the back. The injury done is regarded as a type of radicular back pain. A radicular back pain is felt on the spot where the injury or harm had been done along the path of the affected nerve.

Spinal stenosis also causes back pains. It commonly occurs to those over 55 years old. The term Spinal stenosis means there is a narrowing on the spinal canal. Actually, this type of back pain has many causes such as enlarged cartilage on the joints due to arthritic changes and body spurs. This is extremely painful with prolonged periods of walking and weight bearing.

The so-called osteoarthritis common among the elderly affects certain joints of the spinal column. Like spinal stenosis, it occurs on people aged 55 and above. Another name for this illness is degenerative joint disease. Over the years, our bone may become brittle and fragile. During this period, our cartilage degenerates within the discs between the joints and vertebrae in our spine.

Without the cartilage, our spine does not have the protected cushioning gear. It will then cause the bones to rub alongside each other. This “rubbing” of bones may lead to inflammation, stiffness or swelling and then ultimately give us back pains. This disease is progressive, meaning, the ligaments grow to be thick and the bones can have spurs.

The most common disease for elderly people is osteoporosis. This illness also causes back pains and is very common on women. It is described as an excessive loss of the body's bone density.