Chronic pain is anything but normal and no more so is this true than when it comes to your back. Yet, all too often, people simply grit their teeth and bear it, figuring the pain will somehow resolve itself on its own, only to find themselves months, and even years, down the road with the same, if not worse, pain.
Here at Pure Medicine, we’ve helped many of our patients in Dallas and Frisco, Texas, get to the bottom of their back pain. And, more importantly, we find them relief.
To help you better understand the mechanics of your back and what can go wrong, we’ve pulled together a quick primer on the most common reasons for back pain and what we can do about them.
There’s no better place to start than a quick review of your back in order to help you narrow the focus of your problem. At the heart of your back lies your spine, which contains 33 vertebrae. These vertebrae provide the support for your entire body, enable mobility, and provide passage for your nervous system through the spinal canal.
Separating each of these vertebrae are 23 discs, which provide shock absorption between your vertebrae. Rounding out the cast of players are the muscles and ligaments that provide critical support in your back.
In other words, there are a lot of areas where things can go wrong
In its central role of support and mobility, your back undergoes a tremendous amount of stress on a daily basis. It can generally handle most of what you throw at it. But your back isn’t designed for a lot of the extra things you put it through, like sitting at a desk for hours a day or playing round after round of tennis on the weekend.
Throw in the fact that as you age, your joints naturally begin to wear down as the stresses add up, leaving your back more prone to injury and pain, especially your low back, which is where most chronic pain originates.
The following are some examples of the most common causes of chronic back pain.
There are a number of different forms of arthritis, but the bottom line is that they all cause inflammation in your joints and pain. Whether you suffer from osteoarthritis, which causes your cartilage to wear down, or rheumatoid arthritis, which wears away the synovial membrane in your joints, you’re left with chronic pain.
As you get older, the discs in between your vertebrae begin to lose moisture and can become brittle. This can lead to a herniated or bulging disc, which irritates the nerves in the area causing chronic pain.
This progressive condition causes loss of bone mass. It’s more common in women than men, and it’s a common source of chronic back pain.
This type of chronic back pain is caused by a narrowing of your spinal canal, which leads to nerve compression.
While this list is by no means comprehensive, it gives you a good idea of the most common causes of back pain.
So now that we’ve reviewed the anatomy of your back and what can cause chronic, debilitating back pain, you’re ready to find out what we can do. The answer is: quite a bit. Of course, the treatment depends upon the cause of your back pain, but we want you to know that there are a number of recourses for your chronic pain, including:
While we may not offer some of these treatments at Pure Medicine, we work with you to find a specialist who does. Our primary goal is to put an end to your chronic back pain, and we do whatever’s necessary to help you enjoy a life free from pain.
Don’t live another moment with chronic back pain. Give us a call to get started, or use the online booking tool on this website to schedule an appointment.
Pure Medicine
4645 Avon Lane, Suite 200
Frisco, TX 75033
Phone:
(469) 414-9660
