Back pain is a symptom that is accompanied by various diseases. Back pain is common in adults and can be categorized into acute and chronic pain. Acute pain continues for a long period that can be as small as 2 weeks to a maximum of 6 weeks. Chronic back pain is a type where there are persisting symptoms that range from 1 to 3 months. It is less common among the young generation.

It is assessed to be found in different portions of the back and most of the times, it points towards a specific disease. Generally, the symptoms of these diseases are very similar and require several diagnostic measures to analyze their root cause.

Causes of back pain
There are several factors associated with back pain like age, obesity, psychological abnormality, smoking, and lack of exercise. Some other reasons for back pain are:

• Arthritis mainly affects the lower back and results in the formation of spaces around the spinal cord. This is commonly referred to as spinal stenosis.
• The disc is like a cushion present in between the two spinal bones and performs the function of resisting stress. If it gets swollen or ruptured, it may compress the nerve housing the same. This compression may result in severe back pain.
• Skeletal irregularities may cause back pain referred to as scoliosis.

Symptoms of back pain
Pain is the most common symptom that can be categorized into the following:

• Axial pain that is intermittent and can be intense or dull.
• Referred pain is a dull pain that shifts its position from time to time and has varying intensity.
• Lastly, radicular pain where the pain is caused along the path of the nerve.

Difficulty in performing regular activities due to pain is also a common symptom of back pain. The pain may intensify if the period of resting and sitting is prolonged. Even daily routine tasks are difficult to perform.

Other symptoms of back pain are as follows:

• Pain in the lower back may cause problems in the bowel movements and the bladder.
• There may be a fever that goes and comes abruptly.
• There may be radiating pain in the lower portion of the body.
• Appetite and weight loss may be accompanied.

Treatment for back pain
Back pain can be treated in several ways, which are as follows:

• Medication
  Some of the anti-inflammatory non-steroidal medicines are specially designed to cure back pain. Patients are often prescribed to have analgesics that relieve pain very fast. Patients having severe instances of back pain are often given the tricyclic antidepressant that treats the pain related to a nerve.

• Physical therapies
  There are therapies that attenuate the pain by increasing healthy blood flow in the affected area. Some of the methods include acupuncture, cognitive therapy, exercising, meditation and relaxation methods, and chiropractic adjustment.

• Surgery

It is an uncommon technique to combat back pain. It is taken into consideration when various other treatment measures like medical therapies have failed. One of the surgical methods includes spinal fusion where the vertebrae fuse into a single bone. In the end, the movement of the bone causes no associated pain. In case of degenerative disc displacement, the disc may be replaced by surgery.

• Home remedies

This is a natural method of curing back pain where ice packs are applied to the inflamed portion to get relief. There are exercises helping to improve the body posture and strengthen the bones and muscles.