Are you one of the millions
of people living with chronic back pain? Have you been told by a
medical provider your pain is due to arthritis? Or there is nothing that can be
done about your back pain?
Cases of chronic low back
pain, which is pain lasting longer than 3 months, tend to increase with age.
The message we hear the most often is that pain is due to structural changes
within the spine. But research has shown that the risk factors for developing
chronic pain aren’t related to injury or tissue damage.
Let’s take a look at what
the actual risk factors are and when you should seek medical advice if you’ve
been living with chronic low back pain.
Is There a Correlation Between Back Pain and Age?
Approximately one in three
adults over the age of 60 will experiences low back pain. What’s often left out
of the discussion of chronic low back pain is that aging of the spine is
perfectly normal. Yes, it’s not even abnormal to start seeing signs
of arthritis on imaging as young as age 30!
More importantly, arthritic
changes within your joints don’t have to lead to chronic pain or limited
quality of life.
So, what gives and where is
your back pain really coming from?
Naturally, age causes an
increase in low back pain, but it’s usually not the reason why the pain is
there in the first place.
There are normal and
expected changes in the spine that come with age, including changes in posture, a decline in strength,
signs of arthritis in the joints, and changes in flexibility. The great news is that
any of these can be prevented or easily reversed with the right approach.
According to research
though, pain is more complex than just physical changes. The majority of low
back pain in older adults is not due to a specific problem, like broken
vertebrae or bulging discs.
When an MRI is ordered,
it’s highly likely that any of us will show some kind of damage within the
spine. But more often than not, the physical changes detected with imaging
are not the source of pain.
Research has shown spinal
changes associated with aging detected on an MRI have no correlation with low
back pain, especially with age. For example, spinal disc breakdown is more
likely to show up on an MRI as people age but is less likely to be a source
of pain in older adults than younger adults.
In fact, 60% of adults over
60 years of age will show abnormal MRI results, regardless of whether or not
they have pain. Which tells that MRI results are not giving us the full story
of the root of chronic pain.
And in taking a closer
look, there is really not much difference in reported pain levels between
younger and older adults. So, pain is likely not being caused
by changes that come with age.
Similar to symptoms of back
pain in a younger population, the pain older adults experience changes
depending on the time of day, with specific activities, or position
changes.
What Is Most Often Behind Chronic Pain: A Flared Up
Nervous System and Life Stress
We know that adults over
the age of 60 are statistically more likely to experience chronic low back
pain. However, this has more to do with changes in pain perception that come
with age as well as other risk factors including income level, prior work
exposure, anxiety, and depression.
Advancing age, as a factor
on its own, does not increase the risk of low back pain, but the incidence of
other risk factors correlated with pain increases with age.
The first thing you should
know is that your body is very resilient. Your spine is a highly stable
structure – one wrong move won’t just cause the whole thing to crumble. That
being said, we can be more mindful of movement for pain relief but avoiding
movement is not encouraged.
When Should You Seek Medical Advice?
It’s important to note that
most cases of acute, or new, back pain go away on their own within several
weeks. Only a small percentage of people with acute low back pain will develop
chronic pain, which continues for 3 months or more.
So, if you’re living with
chronic low back pain, when is it time to seek medical advice?
It’s always advised to
inform your physician if you’ve been experiencing any level of persistent pain.
Especially when that pain is accompanied by other red flag symptoms like
changes in appetite, loss of bowel or bladder control, or night sweats.
Your doctor can work with
you to determine a course of action and might recommend further tests to get to
the bottom of what is going on. If imaging is recommended, be sure to request a
follow up appointment to review the results.
What Can You Do About Your Back Pain?
The great news is, there
are many options for steps you can take to both lower the risk
of back pain and improve your symptoms.
The recommendations for
cases of low back pain have changed over the last few years, and the old
practice of bed rest for pain is now strongly discouraged. Movement is much
more effective than rest for reducing pain levels.
There is no one specific
type of exercise that has a benefit over another in terms of pain, so the best
program for you is one that you will be excited enough to do!
Anything from dancing, to
yoga, walking, or Crossfit all have benefits not just for back pain but overall
health. It might take a little trial and error but there’s no reason you can’t
get started today.
Activities as simple as
walking for 30 minutes five or more days per week and strengthening exercises
two or more days per week lower the risk of chronic low back pain.
Managing other risk factors
like poor sleep, anxiety, and depression through conservative treatments like
counseling and meditation is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle! To
get a jump start, check out this wonderful
guide and workbook walking you through your chronic pain
experience.
If you aren’t sure where to
start or have other health conditions, a physical or occupational therapist can
help safely establish a plan of attack for your back pain. Remember, changes
within the spine are a normal part of aging but should never limit how you live
your life!
And finally, be sure to
continue to have discussions with your medical provider about what treatments
you can consider.
What steps can you take to
start to manage your back pain today? Have you been ignoring the signs of lower
back pain? What is stopping you from reaching out to your medical provider?
Have you tried exercise to decrease the pain? What are the results? Please
share with our community!
Disclaimer: This article is
not intended to provide medical advice. Please consult with your doctor to get
specific medical advice for your situation.
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