|
||
My story began on a dairy farm in rural New York State. Chores and grown-up responsibilities became a part of my life at a very young age. Hard work and long days were the realities of life as I knew it. I grew up strong of body and blessed with a resourceful and capable mind.
Little did I know that many of the things I did in those early days were setting me up for back problems down the road. Lifting heavy objects was an everyday activity. Long hours wielding a shovel or pitch fork, pounding fence posts or handling hay bales took an unseen toll.
My first indication that my back wasn’t invincible occurred when I was about 13 yrs. old. I had jumped off a rock into our favorite swimming hole at a nearby creek, and struck the bottom of the creek-bed stiff-legged. By that evening I was hunched over like an 80 yr. old man listing to one side. By the next morning I could hardly move and my mother took me in to see the chiropractor. After several adjustments my health returned and I soon forgot all about it.
Upon graduating from high school I took a job working for a local building contractor and soon began hanging drywall full-time. Holding these heavy sheets of plasterboard over my head at awkward angles added to a steadily growing “back" account. But, I was young…I was strong and didn’t notice.
From there I moved out west to Montana to fulfill my dreams and soon I was working as a logger. I loved working in the outdoors and welcomed the hard work and the new skills required to wield a chainsaw and fell timber with precision. The strain of using a chainsaw while twisting and bending over was deposited straight into my “back" account…but hey…did I mention I was young and strong and didn’t notice?
Soon I graduated to heli-logging where powerful helicopters were used to lift and fly the logs to a distant landing where they could be loaded onto trucks. We were the professional athletes of logging...hard, strong and invincible. We worked on the most treacherous terrain, the stuff no one else would or could touch. Ten years of this abuse; the brutal falls, the bangs and bruises, the strain of packing the heavy steel chokers, all took its toll. But, I was still young (although I was starting to feel old) and I was still strong. I cheated death on a daily basis and so far I had gotten the best of it. But, that would change very suddenly.
I never saw the tree that struck me on the head but the compression that occurred to my spine would haunt me for years. That fateful day changed my life forever.
So was it the sudden injury or the accumulated effects of years of hard work that contributed to my demise? In all likelihood it was both. A healthy back can take a lot of stress, but that stress can catch up to you. My experience taught me that maintaining a healthy back is far easier than repairing a damaged one. If you find yourself sliding down the slope of accumulated back trauma it is vitally important to take steps now to reverse that slide, before it becomes a life altering experience. doesn't have to be life ending.
Back Pain is no fun. Pain is the first sign which alerts you about your body's problems. Pain is message sent by the specific organ where there is problem, to the brain through nerves. The pain can be of two types. One is Neuropathic pain which is caused by injury to nerve tissue. Another is type of pain results in outside injury.
If you have back pain it is better to know what type of pain it is before your start the treatment. Back pain may be scaled from 1 to 10. Scale 1 pain may not be noticed. When a person is facing continuous pain and goes to doctor he may be facing pain ranging from 7, 8 or 9 scale. It is not bearable.
We must understand the anatomy of this important part of body because if it is not well it can disturb your life. Spine is the support of our body. It contains the series of vertebrae lined on each other. These vertebrae are connected with each by the discs surrounding them. Spine is very important because it contains the major nerves which are connected to brain. The upper vertebrae are joined to rib on right side of back. Back pain may be result of problems related to joints, ligaments and muscles straining.
Back pain can be chronic or it may be felt some time while performing a particular activity. A person will describe the pain as deep and aching. This pain may be experienced in the area below the neck and above the hip bone.
Back pain may be lower back pain, upper back pain, disc back pain, rib back pain. Pregnant woman face back pain in pregnancy period. Mostly adult person are having more risk of facing back pain after age of 45 years.
With the improvement in medical science and technological improvement diagnosis of particular back pain is possible. Normally x rays, MRI, CT scans are used to find out the causes of back pain. Sometimes the bone scan is also done.
However the treatment may be traditional as there is no 100% solution to the problem of back pain. That is why it is very individual treatment. Many factors are influencing the treatment including the medical history of patient and his family history.
Treatments may be combined with the alternative therapies like acupuncture, massage therapy, physical therapy. Pain killers are used for immediate relief to the patient. Anti inflammatory drugs are used to avoid inflammation.
The preventive measures are more important rather than curative measures. Back pain is the result of poor posture or wrong lifting habits and lack or exercise. Every person must understand that the doctors are giving direction for treatment but he is the only one who helps himself. Therefore the regular exercise routine with the specific back exercises should be followed religiously.
Back pain has to be given immediate attention because it is related to many organs like kidney, hip bone, and chest, rib etc. the early diagnosis makes it easier to face the pain. The treatment is normally a long term one. Back pain is irritating and you could not perform your simple daily activities.