Painful back

Spine - Where does it Hurt and Why?

Spine is anatomically structured in the way that it can carry the whole body weight. It provides body movements and change of body positions because spine is a combination of strong bones, flexible ligaments and connective tissues-cartilage, muscles, and nerves. 60-80% of human population at some point in life starts to feel pain in the back. Pain is usually localized on four main areas of the back and they include the following.

Cervical Area - Neck and Shoulders

Pain in the cervical area usually occurs due to sudden twitch or stretched ligaments or nerves. That pain usually passes by over some time. But, it can be serious if the pain lasts for a several weeks or even months. Pain like this often spreads to the arms and hands, causing the tingling and pulsing and sometimes can cause serious complications.

The causes of such pain may be various - from the uncomfortable sleeping to serious injury or disease (tumors, meningitis, etc.).

If pain is long-lasting or if it is followed by alarming symptoms such as dizziness, blurred vision, difficult swallowing, fever, exhaustion and so on it is necessary to contact doctor to determine the true cause of symptoms and appropriate therapy.

Thoracic Area - Upper Back

Pain in the thoracic area occurs rarely, because it has a mainly protective function (protects the internal, vital organs) and it is the least mobile part of the back. Pain can occur only if there is irritation of the joints or muscles.

Lumbar Area - Lower Back

Lumbar part is the most problematic. In addition that it carries most of the body weight it also has a lot of soft tissues, muscles and nerves. The pain in this area is mostly affected by long sitting, which causes weakening of the abdominal and back muscles that support this part of the spine.

Acute pain lasts less than a few weeks. It is often caused by mechanical trauma, which usually occurs due to: sports injuries, improper posture during carrying out domestic duties, falls or other types of spine injuries.

The most common treatment in such cases include improving blood circulation in various soft tissues.

Sacral Area - Tailbone

Sacral region connect the spinal column with the lower part of the body through the triangular bone - sacrum. The pain in this area occurs due to dysfunction of the sacrum joint sacroiliac joints-hips. Problems with sacroiliac joint dysfunction are much more common with women than with men. Causes of back pain may be numerous, and can have very negative and even fatal consequences. The doctor will best determine the cause of pain, and therefore the proper treatment.