Back pain is an unpleasant sensory sensation due to tissue damage or possible tissue damage along the spine, from the base of the neck to the tailbone. The symptoms can be pain that comes and goes, and tends to worsen at night. Back pain can be triggered by body postures that are not ideal when sitting, standing, or bending. This condition can also be caused by the effect of lifting objects that are too heavy.

People with back pain in Indonesia

Especially for the elderly (elderly), back pain is a very common condition that occurs as an effect of aging. Research on the Community Oriented Program for Control of Rheumatic Disease (COPORD) in Indonesia found that the prevalence of back pain was 13.6 percent in women and 18.2 percent in men. The incidence of back pain from various symptoms based on patient visits to several hospitals in Indonesia ranges from 3-17 percent.

While data from the National Safety Council shows that out of a total of 1,700,000 work-related illnesses, about 22 percent are back pain.

Recognizing Different Types of Back Pain

Lower back pain is the most common type. A study shows that cases of low back pain occur mostly in women and those aged 40-80 years.

However, other back pain can also be felt along the spine, from the neck to the pelvis. The following are some types of back pain based on the cause and location of pain:

Frozen shoulder, which is the appearance of pain and stiffness in the neck.

Sciatica, which is pain due to irritation and pressure on the sciatic nerve that causes numbness or tingling that spreads from the lower back through the buttocks to the soles of the feet.

Whiplash, which is an injury to the neck due to a sudden collision.

Ankylosing spondylitis, which is a chronic inflammation that affects the spine, precisely in the area of ​​the meeting between the spine and pelvis.

Slipped disc, when the disc joints of the spine are damaged and finally suppress the nerves that are nearby

Back pain that has no specific or unknown cause. Some medical conditions are thought to contribute to back pain, which is arthritis.

Diagnosis is needed to find out the cause and determine the treatment method needed.

How to Handle Back Pain

There are various ways of handling that can be done so that the pain becomes prolonged, namely:

Stay active

Previously, rest was considered a treatment that might relieve back pain. But now it is believed that a body that does not move actively in the long term actually has a bad effect on the back. Doing light exercise regularly can be the right solution.