Spine Pain
Effective Treatments Combat Spine Pain In Chicago Residents
If you’ve experienced spine pain, join the club. Nearly 80 percent of Chicago residents are likely to experience spine pain – often more than once during the course of their lives.
Risk Factors
Here are some influences on the likelihood Chicago residents may develop spine pain:
Age: As with many back-related issues, those specific to spine pain often are a result of the process of aging, which can lead to the development of arthritis and stenosis.
Heredity: Some individuals are more likely to experience spine pain because of genetically inherited conditions or bodily processes.
Occupation: If you work in highly physical fields, such as construction, nursing or a beauty parlor where there is heavy lifting or a great deal of standing for long periods without an opportunity to sit, you may risk spine pain. Conversely, too much sitting without opportunities to move around, such as software developers or receptionists, also may put you at risk for spine pain.
Excess weight: Carrying around too much weight puts a great deal of stress on the framework that hold up your body, possibly leading to spine pain.
Symptoms
Even if they haven’t have experienced it yet, here are some symptoms Chicago residents should look for that may indicate they are on their way to developing spine pain:
Difficulty walking: Numbness or tingling, or sensations of hot of cold may prevent you from walking properly.
Misalignment: You may start to notice changes in your posture, such as bending forward or more to one side, which can lead to spine pain – or in some instances be the result of it.
Causes
A number of factors can cause spine pain, including:
Aging: The degenerative processes of aging make the spine susceptible to herniated discs, inflamed joints and irritated nerves.
Trauma: An injury or illness can lead to spine pain. An accident can cause the spine to become dislocated or for fragments of bone to drop into the canal.
Arthritis: Both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis can result in spine pain.
Tumors: Though rare, these may be benign or malignant. They may originate on the spine or have spread through the circulatory system from other areas of the body, such as the breast, prostate or lung, leading to spine pain.
Spinal stenosis: This particular cause of spine pain, more common in aging adults, is caused when the spinal canal narrows. About 75 percent of spinal stenosis cases occur in the lower back.
Infection: Bacteria settling in the back can cause an infection that leads to spine pain.
Treatment
Though spine pain sometimes can resolve itself in as little as 72 hours with self-care, using analgesics or other over-the-counter pain relievers; ice and heat therapies; and bed rest, there are many times it can’t. Some spine pain may require spinal cord stimulation, steroid injections or percutaneous lumbar discectomy.
Whatever the cause of your spine pain, Advanced Spine & Pain Specialists can help you identify and treat it. Call 773-717-0890 to make an appointment today.
