What Happens If You Leave Your Back Pain Untreated?

What Happens If You Leave Your Back Pain Untreated?

People from all walks of life and all ages can suffer from back pains. It’s one of the most common ailments and is something that can be caused by a huge range of factors.

Pains and aches that people can experience in their back are split into various categories. These start at the top and are Cervical (neck pains), Thoracic (middle back pains), Lumbar (lower back pains) and Pelvic (almost known as coccydynia or tailbone pains). The most common part of the back for pains is the lower lumbar region.

Characteristics of Back Pain

The type of pain that you experience will depend on the region of your back being affected, with the ache that you feel from a muscle sprain being a lot different than the pain that you might experience if you have a slipped disc.

The pain that people feel can be described as dull, numbness, a burning sensation, or a sudden piercing pain that shoots through you. With some certain conditions, pain can also be felt in the arms and legs, such as a tingling sensation of general feeling of weakness in the limbs.

The causes of back pain

lower back pain

Unsurprisingly, there are a large number of causes for backache, with the largest percentage of individuals suffering from a nonspecific acute pain, that has no underlying pathology. It is stated that approximately 90% of back pain comes in this category.

The next common cause, which totals for around 4%, are vertebral fractures, which are usually due to the ruptures of the discs. These discs, which work like padding between the vertebrae in our spines sometimes move slightly out of place, or rupture through their outer protective layer, and press down on the nerve roots.

This can cause extreme levels of pain and discomfort in some cases, and can lead to an individual experiencing numbness down one or both of their legs. They can also experience an intense tingling and burning sensation, as though the lower region of their back is on fire.

Other causes for back pains, which account for approximately 1% of causes include infection of the spine, which is something that can occur after a surgical procedure, or metastatic cancer.

If you are suffering then its important to make sure to get the best back pain care possible. We recommend New York Pain Care, who can help with all types of backache.

Is it something serious or not?

If the backache you are experiencing is one that persists, despite rest and maybe a course of painkillers or anti-inflammatory drugs, then it is important that you visit your local doctor for a full examination to determine the cause of your problem, as well as a course of treatment.

Some back pains are nothing serious at all, and in most cases are simply the results of overworking or stretching your muscles or ligaments. Maybe you recently played sports and pushed yourself a little too far, or maybe you simply overstretched when you were painting the wall in your living room.

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Whatever the cause, backache is something that can cause a lot of discomfort, and is certainly not something that you will want to endure for a prolonged period of time.

Untreated backache

Backache

If you are suffering from backache that has been caused by an infection, then you will certainly want to get the infection cleared up as quickly as possible before it spreads and causes more damage. For infections that result in back pains, a course of antibiotics will usually clear it up, and you’ll find yourself back to normal in a week or so.

For something such as a slipped disc, if you notice the symptoms such as intense lower back ache, or a tingling sensation down either one or both legs, then it’s very important that you get yourself checked out right away.

Your doctor will most likely send you to have an x-ray of your lower back, and in some circumstances, they might require that you also undergo an MRI scan, which will provide them with a much clearer image of the situation.

An untreated slipped disc is going to lead to a lot of pain and discomfort. If the case is not so intense, you might need to take some medication for the pain and then maybe a course of physiotherapy. If the situation is very serious, then you might need to undergo surgery, where the piece of disc that is pressing down on the nerves is cut away.

A herniated disc is definitely not something that you will want to leave untreated. It is not going to heal itself, and the pain that you experience is only going to get worse.

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