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| Health Tips > Back Pain |
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What's holding your back? |
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When a back is in pain, it's felt by everyone
Maybe it's an unnerving sound or a searing twinge. But when back pain hits, life is about to be disrupted. It's a problem that affects the millions of Canadians who suffer, their families, friends and employers. |
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And just about everyone will feel it one day. |
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In fact, 80% of Canadians will suffer from back pain in their lifetimes. In a recent Environics poll, nearly two-thirds of adults in Canada said they experienced moderate to severe back pain in the past year, causing them to lose anywhere from a day to more than a month off work. According to Health Canada, back pain is an $8 billion a year issue in this country. |
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The findings also show that almost half the people asked said that coping with back pain made it more difficult to concentrate an everyday task-which means not just dealing with the pain, but also having to manage the disruption it causes in their life and the lives of those around them. The main causes of back pain are improper lifting, carrying heavy articles, sport injuries, poor posture, health conditions and work-related injuries. Many ordinary activities like working at a computer and driving can lead to a posture that puts additional pressure on your lower back. By the time you feel pain, the problem has most likely been in the making for some time. |
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“I thought it would go away by itself.” Almost nine out of 10 Canadians rate back pain as an important public issue when asked. And they put their money where their mouths are: in 1999, Canadians spent $21.5 million on back pain products. Yet while many of these avenues offer relief, they may not get at the root of the problem. Back pain affects Canadians of all ages and slightly more woman than men. Its effects have the greatest impact on adults under 45, and is only second to arthritis in those 45 to 65 years of age. For them, it’s the number one cause of limited activity, keeping them home from work, out of the game and away from the garden. |
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When dealing with back pain, many Canadians simply choose not to. |
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While some people treat only their pain, others ignore it altogether, dismissing its severity or thinking it will just go away. But because so many people’s everyday activities contribute to the problem, backs are routinely and repeatedly exposed to risks. And the reality is that ignoring the problem doesn’t make it go away. In fact, it can make it worse. |
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For Canadians suffering from back pain, getting back on their feet means taking an active role in treating not just the symptoms, but also the problem. And to help them, there is a whole range of health professionals, offering many different treatment options. |
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The care is there. |
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More than a third of back pain sufferers find help at the hands of health professionals. Using different therapies, these patients have found relief from both the pain and the problem. Among the therapies they’ve chosen are chiropractic care, which can restore and maintain health through the gentle manipulation of joints and the spine, physiotherapy, which can provide treatments and exercises to strengthen your back, and massage therapy, which can relieve the additional strain that back pain puts an your muscles. |
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Health professionals are working together to fight back pain. |
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Ultimately, the success of any treatment relies on patients taking an active role in it. Simple things to keep in mind include stretching before physical activities, keeping backpacks and purses light, and stretching after an hour of television or sitting at the computer. Together with physicians, chiropractors, nurses, pharmacists and physiotherapists, patients have a key role to play in finding and following the most appropriate treatment options. By combining the expertise of various health professionals, back pain sufferers are more likely to benefit from care that will get them back on their feet for good. |
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