Issues with back pain typically fall into two categories: those characteristic of age and those triggered by the way you use (or abuse) your body. According to the National Institutes of Health, 8 out of 10 people will experience back pain in their lifetime, for varying reasons.
Here are the most common back problems at each stage of life, and what you can do to lower your risk.
Children and teens put their backs through the ringer, whether snowboarding, cheerleading or wrestling with friends. Though young people have limber bodies that help them bounce back from injury, back pain among children and adolescents is fairly prevalent. Causes can range from a simple muscle strain to more serious and long-term factors.
George Picetti, M.D., a pediatric spine surgeon with Sutter Medical Foundation, says doctors are seeing an increase in childhood back pain related to weight. “Extra weight puts stress on the immature spine, throwing off posture and causing the lower back to work harder to stay upright,” he says. “This can lead to lower back pain and even conditions like spinal deformities, arthritis and fractures.”
Dr. Picetti also sees some cases of spine fractures (spondylolysis) in kids who play sports that involve repetitive hyperextension of the spine or impact. Another 2 to 4 percent of children and adolescents between ages 10 and 16 develop adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, a side-to-side curvature of the spine that can cause back pain.
Most cases of back pain in children and adolescents will heal with standard treatment at home, in some cases combined with exercise and bracing.
If pain persists for several weeks, interferes with daily activities or is accompanied by other symptoms such as fever, night-time pain, or radiating pain and numbness in the extremities, see your doctor for a thorough evaluation.
What to Change: Activity is great for kids, but keep tabs on sports to make sure your child uses proper equipment and form. If your child or your family has a predisposition to back pain, Dr. Picetti recommends your child avoid sports that require a high level of flexion, extension and rotation (gymnastics, dance and soccer) or considerably high impact (football). Finally, keep your child’s weight in check by staying active as a family and stocking your kitchen with high-nutrition, low-calorie foods.
Palo Alto Medical Foundation internal medicine doctor Kim Carlson, M.D., says many of her young adult patients in Silicon Valley spend the majority of their days sitting in front of computers. Not surprisingly, this age group regularly complains of back pain.
“Poor posture and sitting for long hours strains the spine and the muscles attached to the back, causing lower back pain,” Dr. Carlson says. “Also, using laptops and tablets, there’s just not enough space between the keyboard and the screen. Many people sit hunched over, typing on gadgets in their laps. This can lead to upper back pain.”
What to Change: Work on posture, especially when using the computer. Keep your elbows at right angles to your waist and the monitor at approximately eye level. This keeps a supportive posture and prevents the hunching of the shoulders or back.
Also, set an hourly reminder on your phone to prompt you to get up, stretch, stand and move around. This will expand the space between vertebrae and allow discs to better absorb nutrients.
As you age, your susceptibility increases for disc-related back pain.
“That’s most likely due to the drying out of the spinal discs, which are supposed to be soft and squishy,” Dr. Carlson says. When a disc dries out, it doesn’t absorb shock as well. And if your posture is bad or you overexert your back, the disc can get pushed outward, causing pain.
What to Change: One way to prevent disc deterioration is to increase exercise. Movement increases blood circulation, carrying vital nutrients to the spinal discs. The weekend warrior routine – sitting around all week and then playing sports on the weekend – can backfire once you reach middle age and your body loses flexibility, leading to injury. Instead, spread your activity throughout the week and remember to stretch adequately before any high-impact sports.
Smoking can double or triple your likelihood of back problems. That’s because the nicotine in cigarettes constricts blood vessels and decreases circulation to the spine. Look into a smoking cessation program that provides the tools, medications (if necessary) and support you need. Sutter care centers offer a number of resources to help, including classes at several of our facilities and a smoking cessation program at our Sutter Walk-In Care clinics.
Just when retirement arrives and you have time to play golf or dig into gardening, your back may refuse to cooperate. Your aching back at this age likely comes from problems such as arthritis, which breaks down the cushioning cartilage and discs in the spine, or osteoporosis, which weakens the bones and can lead to compression fractures in the vertebrae.
As we age, we lose flexibility of the spine as well as bone mass, Dr. Carlson says. “We just don’t squat or bend as much as humans have, historically. So our backs get stiff, and then when we do bend or squat, we don’t have the flexibility and we strain our backs.”
What to change: Look for low-impact exercise that gets your heart rate going, and incorporates stretching to keep you limber, weight-bearing activity to build bone mass, and core work to strengthen the muscles in your abdomen and lower back that protect and support your spine. You may need to vary your activities to hit all these targets (and to keep from getting bored), but some options include walking, water aerobics, recumbent cycling, yoga and Pilates.
Making good lifestyle choices can slow or prevent age-related decline. No matter what your age, know the risks and pursue changes today that will keep your back in tip-top shape for decades to come.