Preventing Non-Accident Related Back Pain that Comes with Age

If you’ve been in a car accident or a work-related accident that’s affected your back, you’re not alone. Every year, thousands of people experience back-related pain due to an accident that wasn’t their fault. If that happens to you, you need to contact a personal injury attorney right away. It’s important you receive the financial restitution you deserve, especially if you can no longer make a living. 

Reputable personal injury attorneys will tell you that if you’ve been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you need a law firm that’s committed to preparing personal injury cases with the highest level of detail and commitment. You also need a firm that can serve a “wide community.” For instance, the Barnes Firm locations in California all the way to New York are evidence of a firm that knows the ins and outs of state law and legal procedure. 

But what if you haven’t been injured in an accident but are beginning to experience serious back pain now that you’ve turned the corner on 50? You won’t be due any financial compensation if you have to miss work, as in the case of an accident victim. This means you need to be proactive when it comes to making your spine as healthy as possible with each passing year. 

According to a new report, as your spine gets older, you’re going to start experiencing pain. Here’s why it happens and here’s what you can do to help the situation. 

The Spine

Consisting of 24 bones beginning at your skull and finishing at your tailbone, the spine is engineered to encase your spinal cord. The bones or vertebrae are linked together by slim joints which are called facets. A “jelly-like” material separates the facets which provide cushioning while ligaments make the spine stable. 

Non-Accident Related Back Pain After Age 50

These are the three most common non-accident related causes of back pain after you’ve turned the corner on 50. 

1. Degeneration in discs and joints: This occurs when there’s a loss of moisture and flexibility in your back’s ability to absorb shocks. 
2. Spinal Stenosis: Due to disk degeneration and arthritis, the canal in which the spinal cord passes grows narrow. This usually results in lower back pain. 
3. Spondylolisthesis: This occurs when one vertebra or more slips forward and onto the vertebra directly below it. 

How to Ease Back Pain

Here’s what the Cleveland Clinic recommends for easing the pain that can result from the above-stated three conditions: 

1. Exercise

Maybe you got away with being a couch potato in your younger days, but as you age, you need to be more physically active which means, you need to exercise. Says one spine specialist, “motion is lotion.” The more you exercise, the better your back will feel.  

2. Physical Therapy

A back physician can prescribe a series of exercises and stretches that will not only help you regain back strength, but also flexibility and balance. By strengthening your core, including your abs, you will also make your back stronger. 

3. Medication

Stock up on ibuprofen and/or aspirin. These nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications will ease the pain that comes from inflammation. “Pulsed dosing” is recommended. This means taking the medication two to three times per day for a period of ten days, even when you aren’t experiencing any pain. Unless you’ve been in an accident, you don’t need opioids. 

4. Cold

Apply an ice pack to your lower back if the pain is acting up. You can do 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off. This method calms the inflammation and/or muscle spasms. If you don’t have an ice pack, use a bag of frozen veggies. 

5. Heat

After cold comes to the heat. You might consider taking hot baths or lying under a heat lamp for a while. You can also apply a heating pad to the sore area of your back. This will not only stimulate the flow of blood in the spine, but it will relax your back muscles. 

You must be careful not to overuse heat or you could risk being burned. In other words, avoid falling asleep while the heating pad is on. Once the heat source is removed, you should stretch your back out to prevent the onset of muscle spasms. 

6. Rest

As you age, your ability to recover from injury slows. If your back “goes out” on you, gentle physical therapy including stretching is said to be better than bed rest. Lying in bed for more than 48 hours will only increase back pain along with its duration. This will slow the overall pace of your recovery.

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