Back Pain

What is the back?

Your back consists of 33 vertebrae that stretch from the base of your skull to your tailbone. They constitute your spine, which has four sections:

• Cervical spine, or neck
• Thoracic spine, or mid-back
• Lumbar spine, or low-back
• Coccyx, or tailbone

Your spine is one of the most important structures in your body because it’s responsible for your mobility, it houses your spinal cord, and it stabilizes your entire skeleton.

A host of supporting players help your spine. These include muscles, ligaments, discs, and tendons. Because of the complexity of your back, injuries or diseases that affect any one of these areas can have a debilitating effect on your back’s overall functionality.

What causes back pain?

Your back is especially prone to injury and disease. The most common causes of back pain are:

• Osteoarthritis
• Muscle or ligament strain
• Disc issues, such as bulging or herniated discs
• Osteoporosis
• Injury
• Skeletal irregularities

Back pain can be acute, such as with an injury, or chronic, which is usually caused by degenerative disorders like arthritis.

How is back pain treated?

Just as there are many causes of back pain, there are also many courses of treatment, which largely depend on the source of your pain. Often, the Men’s Health Chicago providers turn to a combination of treatments to help you move about freely again that include:

• Anti-inflammatory and pain medications
• Hot and cold therapies
• Physical therapy
• Corrective surgery
• Chiropractic care
• Lifestyle changes, like exercise and weight loss

There’s no magic bullet when it comes to treating back pain, but your dedicated men’s health physician can offer several effective solutions that restore function and relieve pain. To learn more, call the offices of Men’s Health Chicago or book an appointment online. The doctors at Men’s Health Chicago have extensive experience successfully treating back pain, allowing you to move about freely again.