Dr. Stefano Sinicropi, M.D.

Back pain is one of the most common health issues that sends a person to a medical center for care, and while there are countless ways that you can damage or injure your back, a recent study wanted to take a closer look at some of the driving factors behind back pain. They found that three specific factors are driving a large portion of back pain cases, and while that is concerning, it also suggests that we can significantly reduce the burden of back pain by focusing on these areas. Below, we take a closer look at these three threats to our spine health.

What’s Driving Back Pain?

According to a study as part of a larger project called the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), three specific factors play a role in a significant amount of back pain cases. In fact, they found that if these three factors were directly addressed, the burden of back pain could be reduced by 39 percent. The three factors that can individually or collectively play a role in your back pain onset are obesity, smoking and workplace ergonomics. Let’s take a closer look at each:

1. Obesity – We’ve written about the connection between back pain and obesity on the blog in the past, and it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that it is a driving force behind back problems for many people. Obesity puts an increased amount of strain on your spine during all activities. It doesn’t matter if you’re sitting, standing or moving, your spine is going to be under more stress due to the extra weight it must help handle and disperse. This can lead to expedited degeneration of the spinal discs or a narrowing of the spaces through which key spinal nerves pass. It’s not always easy to lose weight, but at least you understand what you can do to help manage your spinal discomfort. Eating right and exercising more can help you lose weight and reduce or alleviate your back pain.
2. Smoking – Smoking is another topic that we’ve covered on the blog in the past, and you can learn more about the problems that smoking can cause for your spine on this page. Smoking can inhibit healthy blood flow to key structures in your spine, increasing your risk of certain back issues, and it can also lead to a thinning of your supportive spinal discs. If these discs can no longer adequately support your vertebrae and facilitate movement, normal actions can become uncomfortable. Like obesity, the answer is staring you right in the face. You need to do what you can to reduce and eventually eliminate tobacco products from your life.
3. Workplace Ergonomics – It doesn’t matter if you work an extremely physical job or you sit at a desk all day, your job can cause problems for your spine if you aren’t careful. If you have poor lifting or moving techniques when hauling equipment, acute spine injuries can develop. Similarly, if you have poor posture at your desk, you may be putting abnormal pressure on your lumbar or cervical spine. If this goes on for 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year and for years on end, it’s clear to see how back problems can develop. It may take an individualized solution based on your specific work situation, but really reevaluate how your job could be stressing your spine and take some steps to help protect your spine when you’re at work. If you need help with this process, we are more than happy to help!

While these aren’t the only three factors that contribute to spine pain, they certainly contribute to millions of back problems each year. If you are wondering if any of the above issues are contributing to your back pain, or you just want to talk to a specialist about a spine problem you’ve been dealing with, reach out to Dr. Sinicropi and the team at The Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today at (651) 430-3800.

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