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Show Your Doctor Says... The following it one of teritt of articles written by members of the Utah Stat Medical Association and published in cooperation with your local newspaper. These articles or scheduled to appear every other week throughout the year in an effort to better acquaint you with probelms of health, and designed to improve the well-being of the people of Utah. WHAT CAUSES BACKACHE The three most common symptoms symp-toms amonj? adults who seek the help of their physicians are said to be headache, stomach ache and backache. A few decades ago, the sacro-ilac joints were blamed for much of the jain occurring across '.he lower lumbar region. With improved diagnostic methods and i better understanding of the many causes of backache, the sacro-ilac sacro-ilac joints now play only a minoi role in this problem. Backache Back-ache which occurs low between the shoulders is most commonly caused by postural strain and fatigue. Relief is usually obtained by the use of heat, massage, and exercise to improve posture and muscle strength. Backache which occurs in the lumbar region is usually of a mechanical type. The stresses and strains of sitting, standing, walking, bending, twisting twist-ing and lifting often produce mechanical changes in the joints which eventually become' painful. In making an examination, the physician bears in mind the many conditions involving the spinal column which may cause backache and also the fact that certain diseases of the pelvic organs or of abdominal organs, such as duodenal ulcer, might well cause backache. Among patients who present themselves them-selves with backache, many are suspected of having a ruptured or protruded disc. The discs are cushions cush-ions between the vertebrae. In rupture or protrusions of a disc, a piece of the tissue becomes separated se-parated from the main part of the disc and is forced backward against the spinal ligament to nWiHllPA a t t O lr a rf Hnil no in st to Indicate her Out only about 6 to 10 of patients suspected sus-pected of having a ruptured disc require operative treatment while the others respond well to conservative con-servative measures. Conservative treatment usually consists of a supporting corset, physical thera py and special exercises. Deforming arthritis is another of the common causes of backache. It ia most common among working men, particularly those from the farms. In this type of arthritis the edges of the bone become overgrown, over-grown, the Joints undergo degenerative degen-erative changes with loss of norma! cartilage, and the ligaments lose their normal elasticity. People ovei fifty years of age and those whe are overweight are prone to develop de-velop this type of arthritis. In rheumatoid arthritis of tin spine, a marked amount of stiffness usually develops. Other joints mu or may not be involved. As m rule expansion of the chest is reducer as the disease progresses upwarc in the spine. Occasionally, cuiti pain complicates this problem anr further increases the suffering Traumatic conditions of the spine particularly those which produc degenerative changes in a single joint, are. as a rule, easily recognized recog-nized by x-ray examination. Likewise, Like-wise, the diagnosis of infection oi the spine, such as tuberculosis, is made chiefly by x-ray examination. Tuberculosis and other infections of the spine are among the disappearing disap-pearing diseases. The possible presence pre-sence of congenital or developmental develop-mental defects of the spine, or oi a tumor involving the spine, the spinal cord or the nerve roots, must be considered as remote causes of the pain, as well as true sciatic neuritis. As with other medical problems, the early treatment of backache produces much better results than treatment which is instituted late in the course of the disease. Individuals Indivi-duals whose examinations have shown that no serious condition exists, should learn to "live with their backache" by learning how to avoid the activities and strains which aggravate the condition. With the help of a supporting corset, worn during periods of extra activity or while driving a car or truck, it is fremtently possible pos-sible to control pain. The advantage advan-tage of a firm bed with plywood between the springs and mattress is commonly recognized by those who suffer with bae'eache. An accurate diagnosis and evaluation by a medical doctor should be made first, after which treatment and adjustments in living follow ir. logical sequence. against a nerve root to produce sciatic pain. This condition is one of the two or three most common causes of backache, with or without sciatic pain. It might be of inter- |
