Causes and Diagnosis of Back Pain

Back pain is a common reason people quit work and visit a doctor, and it’s also a leading cause of disability globally. You can prevent or relieve back pain if you take preventive measures. If prevention doesn’t work, some body mechanics and simple home treatments will heal back pain in a few weeks. Surgery is needed but in rare cases. Jersey City back pain treatment helps eliminate this condition and prevents it from coming back, improving your quality of life.

Causes of back pain

Spine-related problems. Back pain usually happens when something is off in how the spinal joints, discs, muscles, and nerves fit and move together. Your doctor checks this if you have back pain.

Slipped or herniated disc. The doctor mentions this if the soft tissue in the discs between the joints has come out. It’s mainly because of wear and tear. The herniated disc might cause pain in your hip or lower back because the nerves in that area are pressed.

Bulging discs. This bulge is not always more painful compared to a herniated disc. You often don’t have symptoms with a bulging disc. You can only feel it if it pushes on a nerve root.

Diagnosis of back pain and tests

If you can’t move because of an injury, the doctor takes a test on your range of motion, how your nerves are working, and presses on the back to find the problem area. Your urine and blood can be tested to determine problems like a kidney stone or an infection.

Doctors could use imaging tests to check the continuing pain if you were hit by something or have nerve issues such as numb or weak legs or arms. The following are imaging tests done to confirm a diagnosis:

An MRI scan shows a detailed image of the spinal structure without using radiation. MRI of the spine indicates abnormalities with soft tissues like ligaments, muscles, and intervertebral discs. An MRI can also detect joint overgrowth or misalignments in the range.

A myelogram or CT scan. It provides a cross-sectional image of the spine. A CT scan and X-ray are sent into the range which a computer picks and formats into a 3D image. This image enables doctors to look carefully and closely from different angles. Sometimes a myelogram is performed in contrast with a CT scan, where dye is injected on the nerve roots to show spinal structures, providing a clearer image.

X-rays are used to show the bones’ alignment in the spine and detect broken bones or signs of arthritis, bone spurs, or tumors, but they do not show damage in the muscles, nerves, discs, or spinal cord.

Back pain is a common condition, and you are likely to experience it as you grow old. Many people cope with back pain at some point in life because it’s natural. For others, back pain can be chronic. But with proper treatment, back pain tends to go away on its own. But you should always seek help from your doctors in the form of injections or prescriptions. Exercising regularly can make your core muscles and back more resilient and stronger.