The first thing to consider is, "What is the origin of the sharp or sudden pain of a back injury?" To some, it feels like a sharp, stabbing pain; to others, a seizing grip that interferes with breathing. Perhaps it is just that: the seizing grip of muscles going into spasm, causing stabbing back pain and interfering with breathing, nothing more.

Back Pain Treatment and Physical Therapy

Medical practitioners, including physical therapists, face a peculiar quandary with regard to back pain and muscle spasms in general: so often, the pain they encounter in their patients comes from muscular spasticity, so much of their effort goes into ending muscular spasms, and yet so many of their patients return with the same muscle spasms and back pain for which they have been treated in the past. According to one physical therapist, the likelihood of a patient who has had back pain returning again with the same problem is about 80%.

Let's take another look at back pain, in particular.

Overview Of Back Pain And Muscle Spasms

Unless you have had a violent accident, your back pain, whether sudden or chronic, has been coming for a very long time. Muscular tension builds up for a long time before crossing the point of no return and becoming a back spasm. Then, like the straw that broke the camel's back, a small movement is sufficient to trigger a crisis.

We return to the quandary of back spasms. What causes the build-up of tension? What controls muscular tension?

The answer may be obvious to you: your brain controls your muscular tension; your brain causes your muscles to go into spasm.

Why?

Muscle Spasms — Usually a Brain-Conditioning Problem

Here, the answer may not seem so obvious — but obvious it is when you think about it: brain conditioning. Your brain, the master control organ of your muscles, is an organ of conditioning (learning). People acquire their tensions through conditioning: repeated overuse, repeated overstrain, repeated stress. Repetition leads to habit formation and habit formation leads to involuntary habits of tension. Back pain is a nervous tension habit conditioned into you through the repetitive strains of life. At that point, your nervous tension is no longer a reflection of a momentary emotional state, but set in the habituation operation of your brain and muscular system.

So the problem is simpler than you might expect. You probably do not have a medical problem; you probably have a conditioning problem. With tingling or numbness, the muscles of your back are so tight that they are pulling your vertebrae (the small bones of your spine) so close that they are pinching nerves. By relaxing those muscles, you can take the pinch off the nerves.

Fortunately for those using the right methods, a muscular conditioning problem can often be cleared up fairly quickly — past experience notwithstanding.

Perspective on Therapeutic Methods to End Back Pain

The problem with most methods used to relax muscles — mental methods, manipulative methods, therapeutic methods in general –is that they may not adequately teach muscular control. Muscular control has two parts: the ability to create muscular tension and the ability to relax muscular tension. Both abilities are needed; otherwise, you are either musclebound (and prone to cramping) or weak. Such methods also often neglect an important part of control: sensory awareness. Too often, people are given therapeutic exercises but no instructions in how to do them; they're told, "These are strengthening exercises," so people go for strength instead of control; they go for effort instead of sensory awareness. If you can't feel how to regulate your muscular tension, you can't feel how to relax your muscular tension. You feel pain with no connection to the sense of contracting those muscles to the point of fatigue. Progress comes slowly, at best, from working too fast and too mechanically.

So you need to improve both muscular control and the ability to feel your muscles.

Then, you develop freedom of movement, and then, you can relax more completely than you ordinarily do and stay more relaxed without thinking about it. "Freedom of movement" means it's your natural state.

To, show you how do-able this is, I'll present some coordinated movements that can often restore your comfort. Before I do, read and understand the following instructions:

(NOTE: If your problem is severe, (numbness or tingling in your extremities) see your doctor to rule out a medical emergency. That done, find a Hanna Somatic Educator (for fastest results) or use the procedure shown below or other self-help resources found below.)

Simple Somatic Coordination Exercises to Help End Back Pain

• Do these movements as a way of creating sensations of movement.
• Move slowly and smoothly.
• Be gentle, working within the range of sensations you're willing to experience. Done gently, they are safe to do even with disk problems. If in doubt, consult your physical therapist before proceeding.
• Always separate repetitions of a movement with complete relaxation.

   

  No More Back Pain. EBook(R) On Back Pain Relief.

   

If you do these movements mechanically (for example, by counting repetitions instead of feeling movement), if you do them too quickly or too hard, you deprive yourself of the sensations needed to discover your own control over yourself. You may make yourself tighter, instead of looser. You will get better results by doing too little than by doing too much. You will have an easier time if you have somebody read these instructions to you. The movements should feel comfortable to do; if they create pain, do a smaller amount of movement. Move more slowly, more gently.

A: STARTING POSITION:

 

 

• on your belly
• face turned to the right
• right hand under your left cheek (like a pillow, palm down)
• left arm loosely by your side

 

 

1. Slowly lift just your left leg.

    

   Feel the first sensations of muscular effort. Go slowly.

   Tip! Avoid becoming overweight. Overweight increases the risk of back pain.

    

2. Slowly lower your left leg.

    

   Feel the last sensation of relaxation, as it happens. Take a deep breath and let everything go.

   REPEAT THIS LEG LIFT FOUR (4) TIMES AT DECREASING LEVELS OF EFFORT.

    

3. Simultaneously lift your left leg, head, and right arm.

    

    

4. Slowly lower yourself down, take a deep breath and relax all the way.

    

   REPEAT 4 TIMES AT DECREASING LEVELS OF EFFORT, THEN SWITCH SIDES.

    

 

B: STARTING POSITION:

 

• On your back
• knees up
• feet near your buttocks
• Fingers interlaced behind your head.
• Elbows out flat on the floor

   

   

 

 

1. Arch:

    

    

   • Inhale.
   • Gently, gradually turn your tailbone down into the surface (arch your low back).
   • Gently press your elbows down.
   • Tug your heels toward your buttocks and hold.

      

      

    

    

2. Curl:

    

    

   • Begin to exhale.

      

      

   • When you can feel your back tighten, relax your back and gradually press your back onto the surface.
   • Bring your elbows together. (pause)
   • Press down on your feet.

      

      

   • Continue to exhale.

      

     Use equal strength to curl as you did to arch.

      

   • Point your elbows at your knees.

    

    

   • Curl forward and look at your knees.
   • Exhale completely.

      

      

    

   REPEAT THIS "ARCH AND CURL" MOVEMENT FOUR TIMES MORE AT DECREASING LEVELS OF EFFORT.

    

 

 

Do these movements for ten minutes daily for a week or two. Many people get just the results they need.

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.

Research carried out in 2002 indicated that almost 80% of the world's population would suffer from some kind of back pain with lower back pain being the most common type. In addition to the high rate of incidence, back pain is also known to have a high rate of recurrence in patients. With patients trying everything from over the counter painkillers to physiotherapy to gain relief from back pain, Acupuncture comes as a welcome change.

Acupuncture is a natural method of treatment that involves no chemicals or surgery. Thin stainless steel needles are inserted into the body at various acupuncture points to stimulate the free flow of Chi or life force through the body. Free flowing Chi results in a healthy and pain free body. Large bodies of research have been able to establish a connection between acupuncture and relief from back pain-especially sciatica.

Sciatica refers to a type of back pain in which the pain radiates from the buttocks down the legs. Sometimes, sciatica pain can also be a consequence of a muscle spasm impinging on the sciatica nerve. Acupuncture can be effectively used to alleviate muscle spasms. The results are almost immediate and can provide relief within minutes.

Back pain is generally caused because muscles that are not frequently exercised and stretched are suddenly put to excessive use. Muscle spasms are common in such cases and result in the individual feeling sore, stiff and a dull ache in the back. Patients suffering from sciatica may even feel a tingling sensation or numbness. This is generally due to the narrowing of the disc space or a disc protrusion in the lumbar region.

Acupuncture is used to improve blood circulation to the entire lumbar region and spinal cord. It relaxes paraspinal muscles and provides relief from muscle spasms. The increased blood flow provides greater nourishment to the discs and increases the elasticity and strengthens the spinal cord. Thus, acupuncture can be extremely effective in reducing back pain symptoms. It is important to remember that different patients respond differently to acupuncture sessions and it can take anywhere between 4-12 sessions to really feel the difference.

Betty Durden is a staff writer for The National Acupuncture Specialists located at http://www.acupuncture-treatment-specialists.com.