There are few things that feel worse than the moment something pops in your back. The agonizing pain in the moment is always compounded by the dread of pain to come every time you turn the wrong way or bend in the slightest. However, despite the immediacy of the issue suddenly appearing in your spine, there are a number of other potential problems that can occur due to back pain issues.
1. Lack of Exercise
When back pain prevents you from doing things you otherwise would, there can be real consequences. Exercise is often a key element to fixing structural issues and keeping yourself healthy. If your pain prevents you from proper exercise, then the pain is likely to get worse, and contribute to issues elsewhere, due to lack of activity.
2. Poor Posture
Over time, pain in your body will cause you to hold yourself differently in countless subtle ways. As those habits get reinforced, your natural posture will shift, and as poor posture is often the source of spinal issues, the cycle of pain will only get worse.
3. Trouble Breathing
The entire ribcage is intricately connected with the spine, so back problems can radiate out and affect your entire torso. This can lead to issues like breathing problems, as the ribs literally push on your lungs as they try to expand, causing sharp, stabbing pains and forcing you to only take shallow breaths. Gone on long enough unattended, such issues can actually cause brain damage, due to less oxygen intake.
4. Herniated Disk
Between the vertebrae in your spine there is softer tissue known as disks, which serve to prevent bone scraping against bone and allow easy flexibility of the spine. When a disk becomes herniated, also known as a slipped disk, it means that part of that softer material has slipped out of place. This cannot only irritate the nerves and cause pain in the local area of the disk, but can also lead to pain, numbness, and weakness in your extremities.
Clearly, nobody enjoys suffering from back pain, but many are not aware of the further dangers that back pain can present. The only way to truly be safe is to consult with a medical expert, like the Coastal Spine and Pain Center in Jacksonville, Florida. Otherwise, soon that pain in your back might not only be back pain.
