Acute back pain can strike at any time for seemingly no reason. It is common for a victim to complain that while doing something as simple as bending over to tie a shoelace, severe back pain occurred. A study in 1983 by Norwegian epidemiologist Dr. F. Biering-Sorensen determined that low back pain incidents most often occur in the third decade of life and are less common in the elderly.
Definition
Acute back pain occurs suddenly. The cause may be apparent, such as a lifting injury, but the source of the problem might remain unknown. Pain could be limited to a single area, but it might involve more serious signs and symptoms, such as numbness, tingling or weakness in either or both legs.
Method of Injury
One of the most common injury mechanisms is a lift and twist. A person might lift a weight of some type, turn to move or unload it, then feel a sudden, sharp stab in the back. The pain can be strong enough to drop a person to her knees and render her immobile. The good news about acute back pain is that it tends to be mechanical in origin and therefore not of a more serious cause, such as tumor.
Causes
The causes of acute back pain are many and varied. Muscular strain/sprain, facet joint dysfunction, sacroiliac joint dysfunction and disc herniation are the usual suspects.
Treatments
Chiropractic care aids acute back pain by allowing greater joint separation, therefore a greater passive range of motion and, in turn, greater mobility. The anatomy of the back muscles is such that by restoring mobility to the joints, the muscle spasm typically associated with acute back pain is reduced due to the inherent innervation of the muscles and the joints.
Physical therapy focuses on reducing muscle spasm through the use of modalities, such as muscle stimulation or TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation). Here, impulses are sent into the muscle, inhibiting the excessive electrical activity the muscle itself creates.
If the cause of back pain has been determined to be strictly muscular in nature, then massage therapy can be of great help, as physically working on the involved muscles can help them to settle down. Gentle stretching may even be used at this time in an attempt reduce pain and improve mobility.
Injury Prognosis
Prognosis of acute back pain is favorable. The key is to seek treatment in the early stages, before compensations in the surrounding soft tissues have started to occur and the injury moves into the sub-acute and later, chronic stages. Essentially, the longer the time before treatment is initiated, the longer the problem will take to resolve.
References
- Annals of the Swiss Chiropractic Association, "Some Physical Mechanisms and Effects of Spinal Adjustments"; R. Sandoz; June 1976
- Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, "The Effects of Torsion on the Lumbar Intervertebral Joints: The Role of Torsion in the Production of Disc Degeneration"; H.F. Farfan, J.W. Cossette, G.H. Robertson, R.V. Wells, H. Kraus; Issue 52A, 1970
- Scandinavian Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, " A Prospective Study of Low Back Pain in a General Population. Occurrence, Recurrence, and Aetiology"; F. Biering-Sorensen; Issue 15:71, 1983
