Lower Back Pain - How Does it Start?
Sometimes simple lower back pain comes on very suddenly after a specific incident. Other times the pain gradually creeps up and its not always clear what caused it in the first place. It can come on after a change in activity levels or employment or leisure activities. The following case studies are very typical examples of people I have met.
Case Studies - Typical Examples
1. A 24-year-old man had started a job in a call centre 12 months ago. His job involved sitting down most of the day. He first noticed that he was starting to get a bit of backache at about lunchtime each day. He ignored it to start with and then as the weeks went on and it worsened he managed it by standing up and walking about which eased it off. Gradually he found that as the day went on it worsened and eventually by the end of the day he was really struggling.
He found that sitting up tall helped a bit. His pain was better after a good nights sleep and not nearly as bad at weekends. However, he had noticed that the pain was starting to come on earlier and earlier in the day and he couldn't shake it off at weekends, this made him decide to get some advice about how to manage it.
2. A fifty year old woman had back pain on and off for 25 years. The very first time she got back pain was when she
was in her 20s. One day during moving house her back had felt a bit sore. It had become increasingly painful and stiff that evening. She took painkillers and rested for a few days and it went away by itself. This happened again 6 months later, following a long car drive and again the following year for no apparent reason at all.
Gradually over the years the episodes of pain got closer together and it took longer and longer for the pain to go away. Eventually, the pain interfered with her daily activities so she sought treatment.
Both of these individuals managed to get back in control of their back problem with advice about correct posture, exercises to improve their backs flexibility and muscle strength and by improving their physical fitness levels. Read more about treatment for this type of back problem in the Back Fitness Programme.
