Back pain affects more than 80% of the population at sometime in their lives. It is one of the most common reasons to miss work (second only to the flu), and there are a myriad of products on the market to help relieve pain. But you don’t have to live with chronic back pain. There are ways to both treat and prevent back pain from affecting your life.

What is Chronic Back Pain?

Chronic back pain is back pain that has lasted more than six months. It usually is not associated with a specific injury; instead, it is the result of many injuries, an injury that didn’t heal properly, or other back issues. Chronic back pain is usually a deep, throbbing pain rather than a pain that is sharp and stinging. It can make it difficult to complete day-to-day activities, and can limit your ability to work.

Treating Chronic Back Pain

If you suffer from chronic back pain, the first thing you should do is see a doctor. Your doctor can rule out causes of back pain (such as illness or an infection) that are not related to your back. He or she can also do an x-ray or MRI to determine if there are fractures in the bones or tears in your muscles or ligaments. You can treat chronic back pain at home with over-the-counter medications, as well as ice and heat packs. Rest is also important; there are pillows designed to help relieve back pressure, or you can lie on your back with your legs elevated.

Preventing Chronic Back Pain

Like they say in sports, the best offense is a good defense. The same is true when it comes to chronic back pain – the best thing you can do is prevent the pain to begin with. First is making sure that you demonstrate good posture. Sitting up straight sounds like something simple, but over the long run it can have a big impact. With so many jobs requiring many hours on the computer, it is especially important to have good posture as you sit and type. There are countless products that are ergonomically designed to help you keep good posture as you work on your computer. Stretching and strengthening the muscles in your back can also reduce chronic back pain. Yoga is especially good for this; there are yoga programs designed specifically to help with back pain. Doing exercises to strengthen the abdominal muscles will also help to support your back. Making sure that you maintain a healthy weight is also important to combating chronic back pain.

Lower back pain is an increasingly common problem in fact four out of five Americans will experience lower back pain at least once in their lifetime.

Properly training the lower back involves selecting the right exercises to work this area and using good technique to make sure that you are getting the most out of the movement. Listed below are three important risk factors that may be causing pain in your lower back.

1. Muscle imbalances: nearly every ache, pain, or injury people suffer from today are mostly caused from muscular imbalances. Over 80% of people have muscle imbalances that go undetected. Over time, these muscle imbalances will cause numerous muscle and joint problems such as wear and tear on the joints, which eventually leads to arthritis, bulging disc or back spasms. An imbalanced muscle is a weak muscle.These weak muscles cannot stabilize the joint in its socket causing the joint to become misaligned and move at a slightly incorrect angle or rotation. When these faulty movements are repeated hundreds of times, the joints, tendons and muscles begin to degenerate.

2. Poor posture: Today's diverse clientele with varied needs offers a unique challenge to health and fitness professionals. The one-size-fits-all approach to exercise programs is commonly unproductive and potentially dangerous. Many injuries and chronic back pain is a result of cumulative affects overtime.

Faulty postures and poor body mechanics will cause lower back pain and be at least partially attributed to these same faults. Improper movements will cause micro trauma to the joints and soft tissues. You may experience pain initially maybe pain comes and goes and doesn't get much attention but overtime the problem worsens and aching, pain, or stiffness begins more frequently.

Until you correct the problem not just the symptom your back will be prone to injury or re-injury. The problem (muscle imbalances) the symptoms (poor posture) the solution (Muscle Activation Techniques).

3. Not enough exercise: Inactivity can cause our muscles to shrink and lose strength. This is a natural process, but living an inactive lifestyle (no exercise) will accelerate the loss. Physical inactivity causes an average muscle loss of 5-7 pounds per decade. Strength training is a simple concept it involves briefly working your muscles, on a regular basis, a little more than they are accustomed to working.

This causes your muscles to become stronger and more toned. Also, your tendons, ligaments and bones will be strengthened. This strengthening will make your joints more stable and less prone to injury. Everyday tasks will become easier, such as picking up grocery bags or grandchildren, getting up from a low sofa or going up stairs.

A Call to Action

Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT) combined with the corrective exercise program is critical for combating muscle, joint and lower back pain, for increasing strength, mobility, stability and for staying active and self-sufficient. Research has consistently shown the fitness and health benefits of MAT Therapy and strength training for injury prevention and recovery.

You don't have to live with lower back pain or any pain for that matter! You can control pain or even reverse it with MAT Techniques and strength training—it will have a great impact on the quality of your life.

Rich Lauro is a certified Muscle Activation Technique (MAT) therapist and one of the industries top fitness experts. To learn more about MAT Techniques and how to prevent and recover faster from your sports injury. Sign up for my free email mini course "How to Prevent and Recover Faster from Your Sports Injury at http://www.sports-injury-solutions.com

Upper back pain is less common but can be just as painful as lower back or neck pain. The upper back is designed to support the upper body and neck rather than to twist and turn. You can get pain in your upper back from injury or strain or even from lack of use. Once you have isolated the cause of your upper back pain it will be more easily treated. The root causes of pain in the upper back are muscular irritation and joint malfunction.

What Is Joint Malfunction?

Joint malfunction is most likely caused by strain or injury to the joints between the ribs and the upper back. A chiropractor, an osteopathic doctor or a physical therapist can manipulate the upper back in order to loosen and also strengthen those muscles to relieve the strain and prevent future injury. As part of treatment you may also take anti-inflammatory drugs to cut down on the upper back pain. A steroid shot will probably not be used unless it is injected right at the point where the pain initiates (the trigger point.)

What Is Muscular Irritation?

If you suffer from muscular irritation it is most likely not caused by strain or injury but rather from lack of activity or poor muscle strength in the shoulder girdle which connects the scapula to the thoracic cavity. Upper back pain in this case can be alleviated by chiropractic care, acupuncture, deep muscle massage, physical therapy, and strengthening and stretching exercises.

Are There Other Causes?

A herniated or ruptured disk is one of the less commonly found causes of upper back pain. Of people who come in for a herniated disk treatment only 1 percent have problems in the upper back. Another uncommon cause for pain in the upper back is degenerative disk disease. Those who work long hours at the computer or at a desk are more likely candidates for upper back pain than the general population. Good posture would help to alleviate the problem as well as strengthening exercises.

Suggested Treatment Options:

? Chiropractic care: Once scorned by much of the medical community, it is now a well-respected profession and may be covered by your insurance.

? Physical therapy: As you strengthen your back, shoulders, and abdomen, you will suffer from less upper back pain.

? Acupuncture: This ancient Chinese healing art is also becoming more popular in treatment of chronic pain.

? Deep muscle massage: A massage therapist trained in relieving upper back pain can be very useful.

? The most serious cases of pain in the upper back may require medication for immediate relief.