One of the most common sources of missed work in this country is back problems. Most adults will experience one or more back injuries during their working lives. While a majority of these injuries are minor, a strain or sprain, for example, there are some that are very serious. Proper evaluation and treatment are essential to full recovery.
Strains and Sprains
Often used interchangeably by us common folk, these are actually two different injuries. A sprain involves a stretched or torn ligament, while a strain is a stretched or torn muscle or tendon. Showing off on the basketball court, overdoing it in aerobics class, or helping a buddy out in a move can cause either injury.
The treatment is identical. Rest, ice, elevation, and compression (RICE) is the best thing for these minor problems. Complete tears of muscle, ligament or tendon are treated differently, since they may need surgical repair.
Over the counter analgesics and anti-inflammatory medications help control pain and inflammation that may occur with these kinds of injuries. Within a few weeks, you should be back to normal.
Herniated Discs
The discs are structures that sit between each pair of vertebrae providing flexibility and cushioning. The disc is made up of two layers, the outer annulus fibrosus and the inner nucleus pulposa. When the outer layer is damaged or strained, it can allow the inner, gel-like pulposa to extrude and put pressure on nerves that lie in the same area. That pressure causes pain, numbness, and tingling in the legs or back.
Most herniated discs will heal with minimal treatment. It is estimated that more than half of the people who have a herniated disc aren't even aware of it.
Conservative options include physical therapy, analgesics and anti-inflammatories, epidural injections of pain killers, and steroids given orally or by injection. Surgery is now reserved for the most serious cases where conservative treatment has failed or the damage is so severe that no other option exists.
Fractures
Fractures can occur when the back is subjected to blunt force trauma, for example in a car accident or fall. They can also be the result of degenerative bone disease in the spine. A frequent cause is osteoporosis, a condition where the bones lose mass and density making them particularly fragile.
If the cause of the fracture is osteoporosis, then calcium supplements and other medications that help reduce the deterioration of the bone are prescribed. For trauma related injuries hospitalization, surgery, and even immobilization are considered.
Other More Rare Conditions
There are other, fairly rare, conditions that can cause back pain. Spodylolethisis, spinal stenosis, tumors and ankylosing spondylitis can all result in back pain. Each disease has a unique presentation. Your physician should be able to narrow down the source of your discomfort. An appropriate course of treatment will be determined.
Back injuries are a nuisance no matter what the source. With a good diagnostic exam, a solid care plan, and some time, you should be able to get back to return to most or all of your former activities.
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