The Bane of Back Pain

One-half of all working Americans admit having back pain symptoms each year. Back pain is one of the most common reasons for staying away from work. In fact, back pain is the second most common reason for visiting the doctor, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections.

Most cases of back pain are mechanical or non-organic -- meaning they are not caused by serious conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, infection, fracture or cancer.

When the body is not seen as a whole, simple things are missed. That is why current technologies have done little to ease the pain of lower back ache sufferers. While back pain is a complex subject, its causes can be identified and, in many cases, relief can be attained.

The cause of lower back pain can be broken down into five primary problems. These five causes are interconnected. This breakdown is adapted from the St John Neuromuscular Therapy training -- a method of postural analysis and clinical massage therapy.

Except for pain caused by trauma or by cancer or rheumatoid arthritis, almost all lower back pain can be traced to one or a combination of these causes.

1. Ischemia: In everyday language, this means "lack of blood flow." Tissues such as muscles cannot function properly. Without adequate blood to provide food and oxygen, soft tissues such as muscles, tendons and ligaments can build up lactic and other breakdown products of metabolism. This can become painful over time. Ischemia occurs when muscles are chronically contracted over a period of time.

2. Trigger points:  A "trigger point" is an area of the soft tissue which, after chronic contraction and reduced blood flow, becomes an area of high nerve activity.

For example, certain fibres in an ischemic muscle (a muscle with low blood) can become an unduly active trigger point in response to biochemical changes in the tissue.

Active trigger points cause referred sensation to other parts of the body. That sensation can be pain, tingling, numbness, thermal sensations (hot or cold), weakness, a general ache quality, or the feeling that "it just doesn't feel right."

For example, you might have a trigger point in a muscle of your lower back which refers sensation down into your buttocks, or even down the leg.