Diagnosis Of Back Pain
Back Pain: How Is It Diagnosed?
Back pain, often considered as a disorder, is not a disorder but a symptom of numerous types of medical problems. Any problem associated with one or more parts of the lower back causes back pain. Even a problem with kidney leads to back pain.
Diagnosis of back pain
You definitely know your back is hurting, but you may be unaware of the reason behind it and the treatment you should follow. For this, you need to see a doctor who will consider all aspects and then let you know the cause behind the pain. He will first examine your back and will check if you’re able to stand, sit, walk and lift your legs properly. Make sure you describe your pain, and how you’re functioning with it, to the doctor very well. This information altogether will help the doctor determine the origin of pain. He will get an idea about how serious the pain is, which body parts are suffering and how can it be treated.
Well, before jumping to any conclusion, he would want to be very sure regarding his anticipations. For this, he might also order one or more tests which could be:
- X-ray: The x-ray images will focus on bones and check their alignment to ensure if you have broken bones or arthritis. Please be informed that x-ray images do not consider or show problems related to nerves, spinal cord, muscles and disks.
- Blood test: If any kind of infection is causing you pain, it could be diagnosed through a blood test.
- MRI or CT scan: X-ray ignores the problems related to nerves, muscles and cord, but all these are diagnosed through CT scan or MRI. It reveals the problem of herniated disk and any other possible causes of back pain related to bones, nerves, tissue, tendons, blood vessels and ligaments.
- Electromyography (EMG): Narrowing of the spinal canal or herniated disks often cause nerve compression, which can be confirmed by conducting this test. It basically studies the nerves and how the muscles respond to the electrical impulses.
- Bone scan: If the doctor suspects osteoporosis caused compression fractures or bone tumors, he might use a bone scan to be sure.
These tests could be conducted by the doctor to be sure about the cause of the pain.
Risk Factors for Back Pain
There are a few risk factors that make you more prone to back pain. Such situations are mentioned below and should be avoided at any cost:
- Physical inactivity or no exercising causes stiffness of the back and ultimately leads to back pain.
- Being overweight is also one of the major reasons behind back pain.
- Smoking is injurious to health, and your health includes healthy back as well.
- The risk of back pain increases with age. So, being older could also be a reason.
- Intense workout first needs warmup. If you indulge yourself in high impact activity without warming up or stretching, you might be inviting back pain.
