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Know Your Pain: Low Back Pain – Symptoms, Causes and Treatments
By Alpro Pharmacy
August 19, 2022
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Low Back Pain
Low back pain is a leading cause of disability. It is very common as 60–90% of adults will experience an episode of low back pain at some point in their adult lives. Up to 70% of the adult population have experienced at least one episode of low back pain.
In this article, we will focus on acute lower back pain which is a low back pain that lasts less than 6 weeks.
What Are The Causes Of Low Back Pain?
While some cases involve compression of nerve root, 90-95% cases of low back pain are mechanical in origin and include problems caused by muscles, tendons, ligaments, and discs.
Factors that contribute to low back pain include:
- General lack of fitness
- Poor posture when sitting
- Poor lifting technique in day-to-day tasks
- Psychosocial issues such as anxiety and depression
- Certain occupations that predispose to back pain such as one involving seating positions for long periods of time, heavy manual labor and athletes engaging in sports of excessive twisting
- Serious underlying pathology is very rare, with infection and malignancy accounting for less than 1% of cases.
What Does It Feel Like While Having Low Back Pain?
Low back pain is described as dull pain, discomfort, muscle tension or stiffness in the lumbosacral region of the back, which is an area between the bottom of the ribs and the top of the legs. The pain can also radiate to the groin, buttocks, or legs, and some may cause limited movement.
If nerve root compression or irritation is involved, sufferers describe the low back pain as stabbing or electric shock in nature and associated with numbness or sensations of pins and needles.
Usually, low back pain is relieved with rest and worsened with activity.
Signs and Symptoms that Require Further Investigation by Doctor
Be aware of these red flag or danger symptoms that require further investigation and medical intervention by your doctors.
How Should Low Back Pain Be Managed?
If we have ruled out the danger symptoms mentioned above, acute low back pain usually has a favorable prognosis. More than 90% of patients get better within 6 weeks if they receive adequate early treatment and management.
The aim of treatment is to provide relief from symptoms and to reduce risk of progression to chronic disability.
(1) Initially, you may need rest for the first few days but after that you are encouraged to resume normal daily activities as usual and keep yourself active with tolerable physical exercises.
(2) You can take paracetamol for pain relief if pain is severe. Short term pain relief with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIDs) can be provided by your pharmacists if you have no contraindications. Elderly patients who are prone to stomach side effects can get recommendations from pharmacists for options of topical alternatives such as NSAIDs or Salicylate gel/ ointment/ patch. Complementary supplements such as willow-bark may have a place for those with contraindication to NSAIDs.
(3) Use a hot or cold pack to relieve pain, whichever works best for you. Alternating heat and cold may be helpful.
- Apply ice or cold packs to the painful area for 10–20 minutes every 2–4 hours. Wrap a plastic bag of ice (or a bag of frozen vegetables) in a cloth or light towel. Never place ice directly onto your skin.
- Apply a moist, warm compress, a warm wheat bag or covered hot water bottle to the painful area for 20–30 minutes several times a day. Alternatively, FlexEze heat pack is clinically proven for back pain relief, which provides continuous 12-hour low heat to the affected area. Refer here for more details.
- Note: Avoid hot packs on an inflamed or swollen back.
(4) Physical rehabilitation such as stretching, and back-strengthening exercises can be learned from your physiotherapists . You may refer to this video for low back pain stretches and exercise.
(5) Do things that help you relax such as meditation, walking and listening to music as these have been proven to help distract yourself from the pain
(6) Learn how to lift, reach, push and pull correctly. Let your legs do most of the lifting by bending them, not your back, when lifting. Hold items close to your body even if they are not heavy. You may refer to this video to learn good posture for low back pain.
Photo adapted from: https://rebalancetoronto.com/why-safe-lifting-is-so-important/
Seek Early Management Before It Is Too Late
Half of back-pain sufferers do not seek treatment and it may then lead to sub-acute (6-12 weeks) or chronic (more than 12 weeks) low back pain. Meanwhile, most acute low back pain cases have good treatment outcomes. Therefore, it is important to consult your healthcare professionals for advice and early management to ensure full restoration of function and reducing risk of chronic pain.
Dealing with Low Back Pain?
Come to Alpro Pharmacy or Consult Now!
We have PainWISE Accreditated Pharmacists who can help you to understand your pain, empower YOU in managing pain and achieve a Pain-FREE life!
Managing pain well involves multidisciplinary care, it is not only about medication.
References
Bpac.org.nz. 2022. Acute low back pain – bpacnz. [online] Available at: <https://bpac.org.nz/2022/low-back-pain.aspx> [Accessed 30 July 2022].
Rutter, P. and Newby, D., 2020. Community Pharmacy: symptoms, diagnosis and treatment ANZ. 4th ed. Elsevier Australia, pp.267-277.
Columbia Asia Hospital – Malaysia. 2022. The Truth About Back Pain. [online] Available at: <https://www.columbiaasia.com/malaysia/health-articles/the-truth-about-back-pain> [Accessed 30 July 2022]
Health Navigator New Zealand. 2022. Back pain | Health Navigator NZ. [online] Available at: <https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/health-a-z/b/back-pain/> [Accessed 30 July 2022].
