Back pain is the most common cause of disability in those <45 years of age and is one of the common cause of visiting a physician. Both the disability caused by it and cost spent for its treatment is increasing day by day.80 percent people suffer from LBP at some point in their life.
Causes of Back Pain:
Upper back pain causes include cervical spondylosis, overuse, muscle fatigue, injury to ligament, muscles and spine that supports your spine. Faulty posture habit is one of the common cause which can be avoided with minimal efforts. Lifting weights, obesity and injury causes strain or sprain on back muscles.
Apart from trauma, sprain & strain, Lumbar Disk Disease is a common cause of chronic or recurrent low back and leg pain. Disk disease is most likely to occur at the L4-L5 or L5-S1 vertebra levels. Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is another cause that describes a narrowed lumbar spinal canal. Spondylosis, or osteoarthritic spine disease, typically occurs in later life and primarily involves the cervical and lumbosacral spine. Ankylosing Spondylitis is distinctive arthritic spine disease typically presents with the insidious onset of low back and buttock pain. Patients are often males below age 40. Tumour or cancer-related back pain tends to be constant, dull, unrelieved by rest, and worse at night. Infections like vertebral osteomyelitis, tuberculosis (Pott's disease),degenerative conditions like Osteoporosis and Osteosclerosis, Psychiatric, Nonspecific and Idiopathic cases of back pain are also observed. Kidney stones are often causing low back pain.
The causes of low back pain in females are unusual stress on back e.g. due to pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory diseases and nutritional deficiency especially in indian scenario.
Back Pain Symptoms:
Nature of back pain varies along with associated features. Back pain that begins after heavy exertion with stiffness in muscles of back buttock or thigh indicates sprain or strain. In fibromyalgia, specific tender points other than back with complain of abnormally tiredness and soreness is present. In LSS,neurogenic claudication is the usual symptom, consisting of back and buttock or leg pain induced by walking or standing and relieved by sitting. In spondylosis, patients often complain of back pain that increases with movement and is associated with stiffness.Features of Ankylosing Spondylitis include morning back stiffness, nocturnal pain, pain unrelieved by rest, an elevated ESR, and the histocompatibility antigen HLA-B27. Fever is a common associated symptom in infections. Numbness of limb, weakness or incontinence etc. are seen in nerve involvement e.g. in nerve compression.
You should seek a medical advice from your physician if facing any of above symptoms.
Unani Treatment for Back Pain:
Unani system of medicine is a Govt. recognized age old & time tested medical system for treatment of various diseases using natural remedies and regimens without causing any adverse effect to the patient. After proper diagnosis, Unani physicians advise which Unani Medicine or therapy can work well to cure the disease. For back pain various effective and safe Unani formulations are in practice. Certain Unani therapies like Hijama (Cupping therapy), Fasd (Venesection), Dalk (Massage therapy), and therapeutic steam bath work very well for back pain based on diagnosis and etiology.
Hijama (Cupping therapy) is a simple surgical procedure in which cups are applied at selected sites of the body with negative pressure and morbid blood is drawn out by minor cuts made on the surface of skin. The first historical evidence of this medical treatment was found in a medical report from Mesopotamia as early as 3000 B.C. Hippocrates, father of medicine (400 B.C) gave complete instructions on cupping Therapy. Cupping therapy is still alive after thousands years of development, perfection and improvement in medicine. Several research studies showed the scientific basis of hijama and mechanism of action as well. Since the field of application of cupping is wide, its efficacy is good, its cost is low, without any/minimal side effects, it is popular worldwide in all socio economic groups and all cultures. Even the Olympians and celebrities are now enjoying its benefits.
Fasd is a type of detoxification procedure in which excess blood/ waste blood and toxins are evacuated by an incision on desired superficial vein maintaining a balance in the body humours. It is very old treatment method having been practiced from very ancient times by peoples including the Egyptians, the Mesopotamians, and the Greeks. Based on clinical evidences, Unani physicians have elaborated how much blood should be removed based on the patient's age, his body constitution, season, weather condition and the place where Fasd has to be performed. In certain ailments like acute back pain, sciatica and gout venesection has been found very effective tool. Various case studies supported the evidence of its fast and better pain relieving effect.
Massage therapy, steam bath and exercise are known traditional treatments for management of back pains and are scientifically proven as well. The type of oil, direction of movement in massage, time and force to be applied are all decided according to diagnosis, hence should be done under guidance and supervision of physician.
Written by:
Dr Mohammed Yasir, MD Unani (Medicine)
Consulting Physician at Al-Hakeem Unani Medicare Center, Mumbai
