Bane of adulthood is the back pain. At some point in their life 90% of all adults will suffer from back pain as it is shown by the statistics. It is medically referred to as ‘Dorsalgia’ – from latin dorsal – back and algos – pain. Pain in the dorsal region of the body is basically dorsalgia and mainly originates in structures like the nerves, muscles, bones, joints etc which is associated with the spinal column.

The spinal column or backbone is a complicated structure, it houses the spinal cord, which is the connecting link between the brain and the rest of the body. Cervical or the neck region, pelvic or tail bone region, thoracic or the upper back and lumbar or lower back and are the 4 regions the spine is automatically divided into. Back pain is classified according to which region it occurs.

Causes: No serious pathological condition is seen in vast majority of those suffering form non specific back pain. Some of the common causes are, back pain occurs due to damage or disease of the spine and associated structure in the rest like the tendons, nerves, ligaments, intervertebral disks etc.; infection, musculoskeletal damage, cancer, epidural abscess, spinal osteomyelitis etc.

The most likely causes of back pain are the skeletal muscles of the back and the synovial joints of the vertebrae. Muscle strain and muscle spasm causes muscular imbalances that result in back pain. Acute pain in the lower back can occur due to injury or infection which causes inflammation of synovial joints of the spine.

Symptoms:

* The most apparent symptom of dorsalgia is pain in the associated region.

* Weight loss accompanied by chronic and severe back pain signify severe illness.

* Back pain that started after an accident or trauma may indicate damage to the spinal column.

* Progressive weakness in the back and legs along with incontinence may indicate severe illness which can be life threatening if left untreated.

* People suffering from bone loss are at risk of spinal fracture and generally suffer from some sort of back pain. * Especially in the lower back region, infections resulting in inflammation of the synovial joints result in acute back pain.

Most cases of back pain are minor and non progressive, but if you suffer from chronic back pain immediately consult your doctor.

Need To Know About Back Pain then visit the Back Pain Advisor.