Back pain is one of the worst pain to have, and one of the causes that makes a person miss work, school, or fail to go about activities due to the severity of the pain. Back pain can also result in disability or complicated situations if not taken to the doctor.

According to Mayo Clinic, you can take measures to prevent or relieve most back pain episodes. If prevention fails, simple home treatment and proper body mechanics often will heal your back within a few weeks and keep it functional. Surgery is rarely needed to treat back pain.

Ines Musabyemariya, a senior physiotherapist at Heroes Day Care Center for children with disabilities, says that back pain can be triggered by many things, some that people don’t even recognise as back pain triggers.

"The human back is composed of a complex structure of muscles, ligaments, tendons, disks, and bones, which work together to support the body and enable us to move around. The segments of the spine are cushioned with cartilage-like pads called disks. Problems with any of these components can lead to back pain. In some cases of back pain, its cause remains unclear. Damage can result from strain, medical conditions, poor posture, and others,” she explains.

She adds that back pain causes significant rates of disability and can be a problem that persists from childhood into adulthood.

In addition, Mayo Clinic’s articles note that back pain often develops without a cause that your doctor can identify with a test or an imaging study.

Causes

"Many back pains are caused by too much pressure on muscles or ligaments, meaning that the more you repeatedly heavy lift or a sudden awkward movement can strain back muscles and spinal ligaments. A poor physical condition can cause constant muscle spam,” Musabyemariya explains.

She continues that, "bulging or ruptured disks, are also causes of back pain, we have some parts in our packs called disks that act as cushions between the bones in our spines. That soft material like a cushion inside a disk can bulge or rupture and press on a nerve, and can cause back pain”.

Musabyemariya also adds that there are many habits that can trigger back pain such as:

Sitting for prolonged periods of time: sitting for a long time without standing up can cause back pain, like sitting on a bus for so long.

Smoking: many people don’t know that smoking can cause back pain because when smoking takes away blood supply and starves the disk cells, the nicotine is toxic to the disks in the back.

Wearing the wrong shoes: shoes like high heels put pressure on the feet and the spine, not offering enough support for the back in a comfortable position.

Bad posture: sitting poorly, standing too straight can also cause back pain, sleeping in the wrong position, and looking down on the phone bends the spine in an uncomfortable way.

Not getting enough sleep: sleeping enough is good for the body and the back because it always allows the disks in the back to rest and reabsorb the fluid squished out during the day.

According to Musabyemariya, anyone of any age can have back problems due to age, lack of exercise, heavy lifting, diseases, or improper lifting of objects.

Ways to fix back problems

Emile Abayo, a physiotherapist, says that many people make the mistake of resting an aching back. Yet, it is advisable to move and do some exercises to relieve the pain.

"It is not wise to rest an aching back, because you can’t lie still on the bed for the pain to go away, as the pain will still remain there, some doctors used to tell patients to lie when they have back pain, which is not wrong but you can’t lie down for two or more days in hopes for the pain to go away, you need to get up and do some exercises that don’t involve tiring your back also,” he says.

Abayo suggests using these ways to relieve back pain:

Physical therapy: Physical therapists can teach you how to sit, stand, and move in a way that keeps your spine in proper alignment and alleviates strain on your back.

Sleep better: Sleeping with back pain can be hard and vicious, but you can try to sleep on your side, the position can bring comfort to the pain.

Diet: Maintaining a healthy weight could also help lessen your back pain by reducing the pressure on your spine.