Each year, according to European statistics, five percent of the population suffers from back pain. In Britain, back pain costs more in lost work hours than strikes and requires fewer doctor visits than respiratory infections. Eighty percent of adults in Italy are forced by back pain to seek medical attention at least once in their lives. Strange fact: back pain has become much more common in recent years. It seems to appear more frequently in advanced technology societies, where the organization of life is more complex. Perhaps this is because psychological stress is as important a factor in back pain as in headaches. And it may also be that nowadays people are more exposed to stress and less resistant to pain. Anyone can be struck by an occasional backache after a muscular effort to which they are not accustomed. This is completely normal and the pain goes away after a day or two. But if this is severe, or lasts for more than three or four days, it is time to seek medical advice. Arthrosis, a degenerative disease of the joints, can also affect the spine, indeed it is the main cause of back pain. Finally, it may surprise you to learn that another possible cause of pain in the spine is gout, a chronic metabolic disease, which in the popular imagination mainly affects the big toe of wealthy old gentlemen fond of good food. In reality, gout can begin in any joint and affect people of all ages. Dr. Peter Baranowski, an Australian specialist in neurology and spinal diseases, wrote in a book that gout makes its appearance when the amount of uric acid in the blood increases, resulting in its crystals being deposited in the joints. This causes inflammation and joint pain. There can also be accumulation of crystals in the discs of the spine. It should be noted that cold (more cold currents than widespread cold) is also a cause of back pain. Localized cold can cause more violent and frequent reactions in the nerve roots of the spine. There are 31 pairs of spinal roots that start in the spinal cord. These roots are the origin of all of our peripheral nerves. If your back pain is chronic, there are many things you can do to relieve it. But since the pain may depend on some disease in other parts of the body, it is better not to take any chances. Therefore, the first thing to do is to consult your doctor to know the precise cause of your back pain.
