Pain radiating from the back can last a few days (acute pain) or more than three months (chronic pain).

A patient’s acute pain is often caused by being involved in an accident or improperly lifting an item that may be too heavy. Acute back pain will usually resolve itself without treatment.

A patient’s chronic pain can be relieved without surgery, but they may need medical care. Patients would be wise to take precautions to limit further injury.

Most everyone will experience back pain of some sort in their lives.  Existing health problems like cancer or arthritis and life situations like pregnancy or just getting older can put a person at higher risk for back pain.

There are lifestyle improvements back pain patients can make to limit and sometimes alleviate the pain completely.

The Top Four

1. Poor Posture is a leading cause of back stress and pain because of the extended hours people sit at a desk hunched over their computers. Back and shoulder pain gets worse for these patients the more they work.

Having adequate back support and armrests and a swivel base chair helps maintain support and movement while a person works. Getting up and moving every hour increases a person’s circulation to the spine and supporting muscles.

2. Not lifting properly can lead to serious back injuries and maximize pain in a patient’s back that is already injured. It is unavoidable to bend the back when initially lifting an object, but a person who uses their legs to do the lifting rather than their back can avoid serious injury.

By learning how to lift correctly, a patient can avoid increasing back pain. Physical therapists and chiropractors can offer education to limit injury or increased pain in the everyday activity of lifting.

3. A patient’s weak muscles that support their back can cause continual injury and increasing back pain. A physical therapist or chiropractor can provide an exercise routine to strengthen supportive back muscles. By exercising regularly, a patient can limit spinal and joint stress.
4. Unhealthy habits like poor eating habits, opiate or sedative use, and not getting enough sleep. Smoking can also maximize a person’s back pain because it damages important arteries in back discs and joints.

Patients can seek the help of nutritionists, weight loss specialists, acupuncturists, yoga or tai chi instructors, pain specialists, chiropractors, and physical therapists to develop a program to overcome unhealthy habits.

Other situations or experiences may worsen a patient’s back pain. Communication with your health care provider can help overcome both acute and chronic back pain. A patient who journals events of when and what was happening when their pain became worse may determine, with the help of their healthcare professional, what solutions are best for their individual circumstance.

Please contact Everett Spine & Rehab to book your appointment with us if you’re in the Everett area or in Snohomish County.