Backache - Causes

• Poor posture - such as bad mattress, straining muscles and ligaments at work or while playing or sitting incorrectly at the desk or steering wheel, pushing, pulling and lifting things carelessly.
• Injuries - twisting caused by accidents or playing sports.
• Arthritis - age-related changes in the vertebrae.
• Structural problems - resulting in backaches.
• Ruptured or bulging disks - sudden injury or pressure over cushions of the disk can lead to disc rupture, which results in pressure on a nerve, resulting in backaches.
• Abnormal curvature of the spine - in some diseases, the spine seems to be curved with a tilt towards one side.
• Osteoporosis - the bones become brittle and porous, leading to compression of the spine and fracture.
• Cancer of the spine.
• Infection of the spine - for example, tuberculosis and pelvic inflammatory disease.
• Other infections -infection of the uterus or kidney.
• Sleep disorders - individuals with sleep disorders are more likely to experience backache as compared to others.
• Shingles - an infection that can affect the nerves.

Risk factors

Anyone can develop a backache, including children and teenagers, though there is no adequate research to prove what contributes to backache. Notably, the following factors may put someone at a greater risk of developing backaches:

• age - common with the advancement of age, generally starts between 30 and 40 years
• sedentary lifestyle - lack of exercise makes the muscles weak, causing backache
• excess weight on the spine
• carrying heavy school bags or office bags
• carrying a laptop bag
• excess weight or obesity
• wearing high heels or improper footwear
• heavy workouts
• diseases - some types of arthritis and cancer can contribute to back pain
• improper lifting - bending actions, such as lifting a child or lifting heavy objects from the ground
• psychological conditions - people prone to depression and anxiety appear to have a greater risk of backache
• smoking
• genetics - there is some evidence that certain types of spinal disorders are inherited, such as HLAB27
• jobs that require long hours of standing or sitting without a break - people with careers such as receptionists, traffic police or those that involve sitting on a chair for long hours, namely, call centre workers, IT engineers, etc.