Tag: Chronic Pain

Spotting the Difference between Low Back Pain and Kidney Pain

Spotting the Difference between Low Back Pain and Kidney Pain

Questions frequently arise when pain in the back occurs. Oftentimes, the sufferers and even the physicians themselves are not certain of the actual site of the pain’s origin. Since lower back pain radiates into the other sections of the body, people tend to become unsure of how to provide initial relief on themselves and how would doctors diagnose the condition. This is quite misleading and physicians who cannot find the exact location of the pain dismiss the case and assume that it is more of psychological rather than physiological.

To further complicate things, we may never really find the actual site of pain and the primary cause that triggered the pain. Let us assume that it really is a back pain, say in the lower back. We could have given treatment on this but what if it really was not originally a lower back pain. What if it rooted from the kidneys? What if the pain is actually a manifestation of kidney complications? How then would you tell the difference?

Though this may seem like an oversimplification, let us establish still that lower back kidney pain is more concentrated on the areas where the kidneys lie. That is located slightly above the hips and positioned next to the spine. Any injury created on the surface of the back that is directly covering the area where the kidneys are founded may have adverse effect on the kidneys themselves. This is the reason why trauma or any excessive force over the area is betterly recognized as “kidney punch” rather than lower back pain.

Kidney pain is directly linked to the organ itself but may usually manifest as lower back pain. It is acute in origin because the pain typically starts rapidly but may develop into chronic pain over time. However, the pain will only last as long as the kidney is infected. Chronic pain on the other hand is usually caused by the trauma on the back.

If initial symptoms will be used as the basis for diagnosing lower back kidney pain, evidences are clear that they show similarities with lower back pain. Yet a traumatized back is not relatively painful when pushed directly on the region of the kidney. But there are other indications that may show clear distinctions between lower back kidney pain and kidney pain alone. These may include painful urination, chills and fever, and presence of blood in the urine.

With the initial signs of lower back kidney pain, it is commonly advised that the patient sees his or her doctor immediately. To provide treatment plan as early as possible

Process More Difficult with Back Pain Pregnancy

Though extremely common, back pain during pregnancy must not be accepted as a normal consequence of the process. Pregnancy in itself is a hard dealing, when back pain is added to the pains that generally cover this period of a woman’s life, it can make pregnancy severely painful especially during delivery. The symptoms of back pain must be immediately addressed once they manifest and must be carefully managed throughout the process.

Chronic back pain during pregnancy is the sign of post partrum back pain or the pain felt after giving birth. This is reason enough why women of this case must seek immediate medical attention for proper treatment before the pain aggravates. Likewise, post partrum pain must be checked and observed cautiously to see if it lasts longer than 8 weeks. If it does, treatments and therapies must be immediately employed to avoid longer duration of recurring attacks.

Types of back pain during pregnancy

Around 80% of women undergo back pain some time during their pregnancy. Symptoms may indicate either chronic (or attacks that usually last for more than three months) and acute (that lasts or several weeks to less than three months).

Studies point out that back pain during pregnancy is most likely to occur during the fifth or the seventh month of pregnancy. As it may be observed, this is the period when the womb bulges, enough to create additional heavy load to the woman. However, there are cases when back pain may activate as early as the 8th and 12th week. Women who are naturally prone to back pains and are at greater risks to developing back pain during pregnancy and may show some sings in the earliest stages.

For pregnant women, they may experience either one of the two types of back pain or a combination of both: lumbar pain (lower back pain) and posterior pelvic pain. Both pains are experienced at the lower back bone but may be different from that of the labor pain (which is also felt at the lower back).

Lumbar back pain during pregnancy may be closely compared with that of the typical back pain for nonpregnant women. The pain is focused at the above section of the body following the waist. And tenderness on the muscles around the spine may be observed. Posterior pelvic pain on the other hand is felt at the lower section of the waistline and is more prevalently experienced by women as compared with the lumbar pain. Pain in the pelvic area may be felt on one side alone or on both sides. Posterior pelvic pain last for quite sometime and resting may not resolve this pain easily.

Both types of back pain during pregnancy is linked to the changes a woman experiences during the said period.

Common Causes of Lower Back Pain

A large portion of the American population experiences mild to severe back pain over their lifetime. The tendency of experiencing lower back pain may increase with age, the majority of sufferers are aged 60 and above. This pain would not only end at the lower back but may spread itself over to the larger part of the spine and down to the buttocks and legs. No wonder, lower back pain is often accompanied with neck and leg pain.

The most typical cause of lower back pain is work-associated. This often goes a long way with the compensation of the worker since the efficiency of works may be impeded. Based on the information stated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, lower back pain causes more damage on employees as compared with any other physical disorders.

Lower back pain is more often focused on the lumbar section of the spine and appears in two forms: acute and chronic.

The acute form of pain occurs more quickly and is more intense as compared with the chronic pain. It lasts for several hours and is often associated with improper body postures and stances and too much physical exertion.

The chronic pain on the other hand often appears in a series of attacks with varying level of pain and severity. There is no telling what would trigger the attack and it shows no indications of ceasing.

Often, the cause of lower back pain is impairment on the lumbar section of the spine. This portion carries most of the body weight; therefore as the framework of the back, the lumbar needs to be a lot more stable and healthier. It is also where to much activity is enforced.

The back bone is comprised of complex system of ligaments, bones, tissues and muscles. When the majority of these parts are misused, the whole system may fail. Ligaments may strain, the disks may be herniated, and the muscles may be stressed, often these injuries may be the cause of severe lower back pain. Along with these issues, matters like psychological wellness, arthritis, obesity, and bad posture may be pointed as the root cause of back pain.

Though these are the general causes, there may be instances for which the cause of the pain may never be determined. Or there applies no condition for which to relate the problem. With this, the best option one may have is to get an x-ray, but even that doesn’t always guarantee the efficiency of diagnosis.

Discover The Truth About Severe Lower Back Pain

Discover the Truth about Severe Lower Back Pain

Most people are accustomed to dealing with the occasional aches and pains that spring up in our lower backs from time to time. These minor pains can be caused from a wide variety of things: overdoing it at the gym, not picking up a box properly, sleeping in an odd position, even sitting for an extended length of time. Most of the time, these minor aches and pains can be treated with a heat wrap, some aspirin, and a little TLC. Sometimes, the problem isn’t as easily solved.
Sometimes, you can have severe lower back pain.

Severe lower back pain can be extremely depressing and debilitating. It’s been proven that people that deal with chronic pain are more likely to be suicidal or on antidepressants. People get depressed and upset when they can’t do the things they once enjoyed doing. It can easily color your entirely outlook on life in general.

There are many different causes of severe lower back pain. A slipped disc, pinched nerve, seriously sprained or torn muscle, even muscle spasms can cause pain so bad that all a person wants to do is take a handful of pain medication and curl up in bed. Even though severe back pain can be devastating there is good news. Once what’s causing the pain is identified, a treatment plan can then be put into effect.

Part of determining what’s causing the severe lower back pain is discovering whether it’s a nerve problem or muscle problem. The doctor will ask you to describe your pain. Nerve pain is often described as sharp, stabbing, or shooting. Muscle pain is an ache, throbbing, or tearing pain. While the differences may seem trivial to some, it will make all the difference in any tests the doctor decides to run and in the treatment plan prescribed.

Once it’s established whether it’s a nerve or muscle causing the severe lower back pain, the doctor might order a series of tests. MRIs are often used to identify if a muscle is torn. An EMG can also be performed to determine just how damaged various muscles might be. Nerve conduction studies or nerve biopsies can be done to determine if there is any nerve damage or to help locate where a pinched nerve might be.

As soon as the extent of the injury causing the severe lower back pain is figured out, the doctor can then work with you on a treatment plan. Often, a treatment plan will consist of physical therapy, medication to relieve pain and swelling, possible surgery, and follow-up appointments down the road to see how things are progressing. If, at any time, the treatment plan doesn’t appear to be working as well as it should, you and your doctor can sit down and discuss changes to your overall plan of care.

The truth about severe lower back pain is theres hope. Hope for a treatment. Hope for a cure. Hope that one day, the pain will be gone.