In a two-day free intervention physiotherapy exercise in Kubwa, Abuja, the number of persons disabled by back pain was enormous.
Charles Ehirim
Common low back pain (waist pain) is a highly prevalent musculoskeletal health condition. It is a common type of pain reported by adult population globally, with one in four adults reporting the experience. It is reported that 70-85 percent of adults experience an episode of LBP at some point in their lifetime. Low back pain is a common disorder involving the muscles, nerves, and bones of the back and often includes radiating leg pain to the leg such as sciatica.
READ ALSO: Nuggets on back pain
Despite the magnitude of the problem, most people do not get adequate and cost-effective treatment for their low back pain. They continue to suffer month after month, year after year.
Constant back pain can impact on an individual’s emotional well-being and people living with chronic and disabling back pain may become so depressed and in some cases driven to suicide just to escape the pain!.
To most people common back pain remains a mystery. Pain in the back often starts without warning and for no apparent reason interferes with the activities of living, moving about and having a comfortable night sleep. Long standing back pain can affect the effective performance of some vital organs in the human body; such as erectile dysfunction.
READ ALSO: How to survive erectile dysfunction
Most victims, who allow poor postures to persist throughout their lifetime, became bent and stooped as ageing process develops with persistent pain in the low back. Most deformities in the elderly are the visible effects of poor postural habit or persistent pain in the low back that were ignored, neglected or mistreated. This would result to secondary and sometimes severe consequences when the effects of persistent pain are transmitted to the body organs.
Organs such as the lungs are constricted and breathing is affected as nipping on the vertebral nerve roots continue and probable the back remains bent. The stomach and other internal organs are deprived of their correct support. Interference with bowel movement, urine control and poor penile erection could follow severe low back pain. This is the resultant effect of nerve roots to essential organs that are compromised resulting to poor transmission of impulse to affected organs of the body. The effect of back pain can be very devastating not just only for persons living with the problem but also for their families, friends and careers. The economic cost to the sufferer runs into huge sums of money, but the cost of human discomfort, distress and suffering cannot be calculated in pecuniary terms.
In a two-day free intervention physiotherapy exercise sponsored by a partnership of Back Pain Care Foundation and Omega Physiotherapy Missions from October 12-13, 2018 in Kubwa, Abuja, the number of persons disabled by back pain was enormous. Many were helped with wheelchairs from the car. Some were supported on their shoulders. A few were carried on the back of their carriers. Men and women, even young adults were not immune. At the end of the exercise testimonies filled the air. They were advised to formally register with the affiliate centre for more enduring relief.
Similar exercise for sufferers of neck pain, mid back pain and low back pain, shall be taking place in Lagos on from October 26-27 at Omega Physiotherapy & Back Pain Care Centre, Festac Town, Lagos. Treatment is completely free of charge.