Periodic back pain in the same location, under the same circumstances, and at approximately the same time each day, very likely is caused by a back deformity which exists in about thirty percent of us, though we are not aware of it. Deformity backache is usually due to too much strain on one set of muscles and not enough on another. An example is shortness of one leg, an unnoticed deformity that often causes strain in the back region during certain motions and activities. Back pain due to a deformity, is most noticeable when standing and attempting to bend forward, backward or sideways.
Considerable skill is necessary to properly evaluate the deformity and to decide accurately whether or not any form of treatment is necessary. Although deformity prevents the spine from maintaining an erect alignment and causes chronic strain, any resulting backache varies considerably from person to person.
Posture change due to slouching, a poor bed or possibly poor health, forces upon the spinal column a mechanical strain which may eventually result in a backache. Uncomfortable beds are a widespread cause of this difficulty and many people can recall later that back trouble originated at a time when a change was made from one bed to another. Another very common back strain results from the obese abdomen. The spinal column can be greatly strained in supporting an excess of unbalanced weight and the obese individual is usually aware of his chronic backache. This of course, can be greatly relieved by losing the excess weight and regaining good posture.
In nearly one-fourth of all backaches, the main cause of trouble cannot be determined. Some backs may be found to have some arthritis, possibly a mild curvature and probably the wear and tear to which all of us are subjected. A few ailing backs do not respond to treatment for any or all of these difficulties, while another back with the same difficulty of even greater degree has no backache at all. It is also true that some of these backaches may have causes which are discovered only after long periods of time have elapsed. For instance, a spine may occasionally become a target for diseases in other parts of the body, an example of which is cancer within the back-bone that has come through the blood stream from a distant cancer elsewhere in the body. Such disease, however, is usually suspected and discovered long before the backache begins.
On rare occasions the abdominal organs, especially the female organs, are thought to cause the backaches. At other times, mental problems and, occasionally, obscure fevers are at fault. Even diabetes and, at times, sheer nervous tension, has been found associated with an occasional backache. Backache pain of an undetermined cause requires further study. All backaches have a definite cause, but, unfortunately, in some cases circumstances do not allow the detailed study necessary for diagnosis. It is well to understand that the back, like other parts of the body, is undergoing a degenerative process toward old age. Its diseases and affliction are multiple and can occur more than one at a time. It is also very true that the strong back is sought out by the strong mind to accomplish the world’s work.