Back pain is the leading cause of disability in Americans 45 or younger, and half of all working Americans admit to having back pain each year. But what's causing your pain may surprise you. Here are six secret causes of back pain.
Eileen Eckert doesn't know what caused her back to start hurting…but like 45 percent of all women, she suffers from back pain that's persisted for years.
Washington University's Linda Van Dillen says there are stressors that can set off back pain that have little to do with your back.
She said, "Smoking changes the circulation and circulation contributes or gives nutrients to all of the structures in your body."
Your mood can make you ache. A recent study published in pain magazine shows the odds of having lower back pain were one point six times higher for subjects with symptoms of depression. Anxiety can also be a culprit.
She said, "People who are anxious tend to use their muscles more, contract them more and that can cause pain."
Other problems can mask themselves as back pain. Like a urinary tract infection, appendicitis or kidney stones.
She said, "A serious condition could be an aneurysm of the aorta, which is the vessel that supplies blood to the lower extremities."
Even what you wear can have an impact.
She explained, "Clothes can cause or can contribute to back pain symptoms if they're very restrictive. So for example people who wear tight jeans, who can't move their hips very much."
And heels higher than three inches put seven times as much pressure on your feet, disrupting your center of gravity. Two simple words that doctor Van Dillen says can help?
Stay active!
Even if your back hurts - the more you move, the better it will be.
Also, doctors say slouching puts an extra 100 pounds of stress on the lower back…resulting in muscle fatigue and the onset of back pain. For every inch your head drops forward as you're slouching, the stress on your spine increases by 10 pounds.
