- Pressure on your neck, head, or back
- Lack of coordination, paralysis, or weakness in any part of your body
- Loss of sensation, numbness, or tingling in your hands, feet, fingers, or toes
- Loss of bowel or urinary control
- Loss of movement
- Abnormally rounded back or shoulders
- Radiating pain to the arms and legs
- Stiffness or tightness
- Intense pain caused by damage to your nerve fibres
- Difficulty in standing up straight
What are the Causes of Spinal Problems?
Up to 80% of people experience back pain at some point. Discs and vertebrae can wear down with age, causing pain. The conditions that affect spine health are:
- Lower back pain caused by arthritic conditions like “ankylosing spondylitis”
- Birth defects like “spina bifida” – caused by the incomplete development of the foetus’ spine during the first month of pregnancy
- Back sprains and strains
- "Osteophytes” or bone spurs – smooth, bony growths, usually near joints
- “Scoliosis” (a condition where the spine is curved sideways)
- Nerve injuries
- Osteoporosis (weak bones)
- Spinal cord injuries
- Spine tumours and cancer
- Accidents or falls
- Inflammation
What are the Risk Factors of Developing a Spine Disorder?
Some factors that can increase the risk of developing a spine disorder are:
- Overweight or obese
- Improper weight lifting techniques
- Sedentary lifestyle, low calcium intake, and smoking
- Spine problems due to conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disease, or osteoarthritis
- Repetitive strenuous activities
- Overuse from exercise or occupational movement
- Poor posture
- Falls cause more spinal cord injuries in older adults.
Myths vs. facts
Myth – Back pain always occurs due to serious injuries.
Fact – Most back problems develop over time and may result from some repetitive trauma or bad posture.
Myth – Extreme back pain indicates a serious problem.
Fact – If the lower back hurts, the symptoms can range from mild to moderate or severe. These symptoms may indicate a minor self-limiting problem, such as an overstretched ligament.
Prevention and disease reduction
You can prevent the risk of spinal injury by the following:
- Avoid falls from ladders.
- Use a seatbelt while driving to avoid accidents.
- Try doing back-strengthening and stretching exercises. Exercise to strengthen the core gives your spine more support.
- Wear your appropriate gear while playing sports.
When to See a Doctor?
You might need to reach out to your doctor post-surgery, so look out for the following symptoms:
- Back pain with fever
- Issues with bowel or bladder control.
- Weakness in legs or pain that travels down from your back to your legs
- Pain, nausea, or sleeplessness
- Numbness in the hands, feet, or legs
What are the Risks if not Treated in time?
- This can cause feelings of weakness, tingling, numbness, or radiating pain in the lower back, often moving to the buttocks and down to your legs.
- As this condition develops, you may also experience pain while walking or running, and most people find it eventually hard to walk even a few steps.
- Tightness or stiffness in the lower back area, restricting the range of motion.
- Difficulty in maintaining normal posture due to pain or stiffness.
- Muscle spasms occur either with activity or at rest.
Disease progression
The three phases of spinal degeneration are:
- Phase 1 – Spinal dysfunction can lead to
- Loss of curve
- Narrowing of disc spacing
- Impaired turning and bending
- Phase 2 – If ignored can deteriorate to
- Rough joint surfaces
- Bone spurs
- Reduced mobility
- Phase 3 – If neglected can degenerate to
- Severe bone remodelling
- Irreversible joint fusion
- Permanent loss of motion
How are Spinal Problems Diagnosed?
- The first step in diagnosing a spinal cord disorder is a physical examination of your spine and a review of your medical history.
- Your medical history is important, whether you are on some medications already or if you’re suffering from any underlying disease such as diabetes, hypertension, etc.
- An emergency diagnostic test may be needed. These tests include:
- X-rays: These can help in identifying a fracture or dislocation of vertebrae.
- Computed tomography (CT) scan: It is an advanced imaging test that can give the doctor a better view of the vertebrae.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): It is a more advanced imaging study that can identify a spinal cord injury.
How are Spinal Problems Treated?
Stages of treatment:
In an emergency room, your doctor will focus on:
- Maintaining your ability to breathe
- Preventing syncope
- Immobilising your neck to prevent further damage
- Avoiding possible complications, such as cardiovascular/respiratory difficulty, stool or urine retention, and formation of blood clots in the extremities
Medications:
To control muscle spasticity and pain, anti-relaxants (e.g. diazepam), antidepressants (e.g. paxil), and painkillers (e.g. ibuprofen) are given.
Immobilisation:
- Immobilise the spine quickly and gently use a rigid neck collar and a rigid carrying board.
- Immobilise the neck to prevent further damage. Use the traction technique to bring the spinal cord in proper alignment. The traction technique is used to realign a dislocated part of the body or a fractured bone using pulleys, weights, and ropes.
Rehabilitation:
The rehabilitation team can help you in the following ways:
- Learn to use assistive devices such as wheelchairs or walkers.
- Regain mobility or strength.
- Psychotherapy or counselling may help with emotional trauma.
- Use of adaptive devices for communication.
How to Prepare for the Doctor’s Consultation?
- Book a prior appointment with your doctor.
- Assemble your personal and family history.
- Get your past medical records and a detailed summary of all your daily medications with you.
- Make a list of all your symptoms
- In case you have any doubts or questions like:
- How to reduce my back pain at home?
- What are my treatment options?
- How much time will it take to recover?