Herbal Treatment of Back Pain
Back pain, also known as backache, is a common reason for absence from work and for seeking medical treatment. It can result from injury, activity and some medical conditions. It can be uncomfortable and debilitating. The majority of back pain is nonspecific with no identifiable causes.
Back pain can affect people of any age, for different reasons. Back pain is common, with about nine out of ten adults experiencing it at some point in their life, and five out of ten working adults having it every year. Some estimate up to 95% of people will experience back pain at some point in their lifetime.It is the most common cause of chronic pain, and is a major contributor of missed work and disability.
Types of Back Pain:
Back pain is classified in terms of duration of symptoms:
Acute Low Back Pain is defined as low back pain lasts up to six weeks. Syntoms are aching, burning, stabbing, sharp or dull, well-defined, or vague. This back pain may begin suddenly or develop gradually.
Subacute Back Pain lasting between 4 to 12 weeks.
Chronic Back Pain lasts for greater than 12 weeks. This Type of persists after an injury or surgery where the source is hard to determine.
Causes of Back Pain:
Strain, Tension, or Injury are the common causes of back pain.other causes of back pain are:
Muscle or ligament strain
A muscle spasm
Muscle tension
Lifting something improperly
Ruptured and Bulging disks
Arthritis
Osteoporosis
Skeletal irregularities
Kidney problems
Symptoms Of Back Pain
The main symptom of back pain is an ache or pain anywhere in the back, and sometimes all the way down to the buttocks and legs. other symptoms of back pain can include:
- Shooting or stabbing pain
- Weight loss
- Fever
- Inflammation or swelling on the back
- Pain down the legs
- Pain that reaches below the knees
- Urinary incontinence
- Difficulty urinating
- Numbness around the genitals
- Numbness around the buttocks
- Pain that improves with reclining
Risk Factors of Back Pain:
Anyone can develop back pain, even children and teens. The following factors are mainly responsible for developing low back pain:
- Age: Usually Back pain occurs when peoples get older, starting around age 30 or 40
- Lack of exercise: Poor physical fitness and unused abdomen might lead to back pain.
- Excess weight: Excessive weight puts extra stress on your back.
Diseases:Some type of medical conditions, such as arthritis and cancer can contribute to back pain. - Psychological conditions: Stress, anxiety, and mood disorders have also been linked to back pain.
- Smoking: Regular Smoking reduces flow of blood to the lower spine, which can keep your body from delivering enough nutrients to the disks in your back. Smoking also slowly effective.
Back Pain in Ayurvedic Perspective:
Ayurveda holds that low back pain is a result of vitiation of one of the three principal ‘doshas’. ‘Katigrahama’/’Prishtasula’ or low back pain is most often an indication of Vata aggravation and bone and muscle weakness (asthi dhatu kshaya or mamsa dhatu kshaya.
Treatment in Ayurveda aims to bring the vitiated dosha back to the state of equilibrium and thereby to the state of health. One thus pacified, the balanced doshas will allow treatment efforts to be directed to the dhatus (tissues) involved.
