Back Sprains and Strains

Back sprains and strains are the most common reason for back pain and also generally very easy to treat. Although you might think a strain is the same type of injury as a sprain, they are not. When you sprain your back, you are stretching or tearing your ligaments. When you strain your back, you are stretching or tearing the muscles or tendons.

The ligaments in your back are tough fibrous tissue that connects one bone to another. They help to support and strengthen the joint and while they do prevent the joint from moving in the wrong direction they are slightly elastic and allow for some movement. If your ligaments are under constant stress, tension, or trauma they may lengthen and cause the joint to become less stable and more prone to injury.

The muscles or tendons in your back are also tough fibrous tissues that connect muscle to your bone. Like your ligaments these muscles and tendons help to support the spine. If they become injured in any way, your pain would not slowly build up in intensity, it would come on very quickly. The causes of these sprains and strains are very similar,

• Obesity
• Improper posture
• Trauma
• Incorrectly lifting large or heavy items
• Weak core muscles
• Sports activities

Symptoms of a back sprain or strain are,

• Pain that is not long lasting, if your pain has lasted longer than 2 weeks you should see your spine surgeon in Chennai
• Muscle weakness, spasms and stiffness
• Difficulty maintaining proper posture
• Inflammation
• Tenderness
• Inability to perform your normal daily activities such as sitting, standing, walking or driving

These injuries can be diagnosed by a doctor if you feel it is serious enough to warrant a trip to the their office, but for the most part they will either get better on their own or with treatments that can be easily done at home.

*note* if your injury is caused by an accident or is trauma related you should seek medical attention immediately from your doctor. Back conditions heal faster when treatment begins early.

Some treatments you can try are:

• Rest -> resting a few days can help give your back a chance to heal, you will not want to rest to long as this can have the opposite effect and cause you further pain as your back muscles become weak

• Medication -> NSAID's (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as Advil, Aspirin or Aleve can be taken to reduce inflammation and pain or an analgesic such as Tylenol can help to reduce pain

• Physical therapy -> this can include stretching and exercising of the core muscles and can help to prevent further injury

• Cold therapy -> this can be helpful if you have pain and inflammation. Best used within the first few days of pain

• Heat therapy -> this is helpful if you have pain but no inflammation. If you do have inflammation never apply heat to it as it can make it worse

• Massage -> this type of therapy can be very good for those with sprains and strains as it helps by increasing blood circulation to the area, which then helps promote faster healing and can flood the body with endorphins. These endorphins are the bodies natural pain reliever

• Muscle relaxants->- these can be used to alleviate muscle spasms and pain. A popular type of muscle relaxant is Robaxin.