Getting Help with Back Pain

When you have had a good look at the major muscles of the back and you will have a better understanding of how each of those muscles or muscle groups are involved with movement and even with the functions of the body.  But knowing how the back can cause chronic pain with every single movement doesn't exactly explain how that pain originates in the first place.  Let's take a closer look at what causes most back pain and injuries so that we can have a better understanding of how to avoid that pain in the first place and how to treat it once it happens.

Back Injury

Perhaps one of the most common causes of pain in the back is due to injury. This may sound surprising since many will experience pain in the back and will assume that it is not due to back injury because they feel that they have not even injured their back in anyway, but it in fact they may have.

In reality it doesn't take that much to injure any of the muscles of the back.  Knowing that the major muscles and muscle groups that extend from your neck to your lower back, there are literally dozens of smaller muscles that can cause tremendous amounts of pain when injured or hurt.

What should be kept in mind is that when you hurt even the smallest of muscles in your back, they will rarely have the time for back muscle recovery and for it to heal properly. This is because the back is constantly in use even when we are resting and asleep, the muscles continue to be stressed and strained even in this state. This can be compared with having to go to work when you have the flu, it takes a lot longer for the back toheal when you are unable to rest simply because the body is unable to give full attention to sick parts of the body. The same holds true with your back, if you happen to injure part of any muscle, no matter how small it may be, they can't me immobilized for the time needed to heal completely.

The injuries that you experience in your back that cause pain aren't always as severe as a car accident or when lifting incredibly heavy objects, although of course those are typical problems as well.

A few typical examples of actual injuries to the back which can cause long term pain include:

* Overuse of the back muscles. - This can be from a job or hobby that uses the back muscles repeatedly, such as working in the construction trades, loading or unloading objects, and activities such as bowling or golfing.  Repeated use of the back muscles actually causes injury over time.  Think of lifting weights - you feel the pain in your arms when you're at the gym and you know to quit, but when you're on the job or out playing that beloved round of golf you often ignore those simple aches and pains that mean injury to those small muscles.
* Jarring from traffic stops and starts - Even though you may not be in a traffic incident, the slamming of the brakes suddenly makes the back muscles swiftly work to protect the body from moving forward. The sudden stopping and starting makes the back muscles move in ways they are not designed to which causes injury.
* Overextending the back muscles from twisting side to side. - These very small muscles that are located up and down the sides of the abdomen and rib cage are very susceptible to injury this way; when they're overextended they are actually injured.
* Carrying weight. - This can mean a very heavy backpack, purse, or other item that puts undue stress and strain on the back.  The muscles work hard to carry and balance this weight and often suffer tears and strains without anyone even realizing it.
* Sudden stresses and strains. - How many times have you gone to hug a child only to have him or her suddenly lift their feet off the ground so that you're carrying their entire weight when you didn't expect it? Or have suddenly slipped or tripped and have had to catch yourself without thinking?  These types of sudden and unexpected stresses and strains can cause injury to your back as it's not ready and prepared to handle these events.  The muscles can be tense and caught off guard which means they're more prone to tiny tears and stresses.

As said, people often don't even realize that they've injured their back until much later, after the injury occurs. Muscles often knot up as a way of protecting themselves from further injury and as long as they're knotted the body may not sense pain. It's only later when they begin to loosen up that a person realizes something is wrong.