Most people assume that your 20s and 30s are the pinnacle of your athletic health, but for some individuals, back pain is already rearing its ugly head at this young age. Back pain affects a large portion of young adults, and if you don’t attack the problem head on, it could linger for the rest of your life. Below, we take a closer look at some of the common causes of back pain in young adults, and share some strategies for preventing and treating this pain.
Why Back Pain Affects Young Adults
Here’s a look at some of the more common contributing factors of back pain development in young adults that we’ve witnessed at our practice.
- Cell Phone Use – It seems like everyone has a smartphone nowadays, but young people tend to be on their devices for more time each day than their older counterparts. We understand that business, email and messaging is easier to do with a smartphone, so we’re not going to tell you to put the phone down, but we do want you to be cognizant of your posture when you’re looking at your phone. If your phone is in your lap and your head is extended forward and tilted down, there is a lot of pressure and stress on your cervical spine. Try to keep your phone out in front of you and keep your head positioned above your shoulders when using your phone. This will help your body better displace stress and prevent issues with your neck and cervical spine.
- Extended Sitting – Long periods of inactivity are problematic for any age group, but for millennials who are stuck in an office for 40 or more hours a week, extended periods in an uncomfortable office chair can contribute to lower back pain. Try to get up and move as much as possible, invest some of your earnings into a more comfortable office chair, or see if management would be willing to switch you to a sit-to-stand workstation. Sitting may not seem like a stressful activity on your spine, but if you are stuck in the same position for extended periods, stress will overwork certain structures and can contribute to pain.
- Overloading From Activity – On the flip side, millennials are also one of the most active generations in terms of exercise and physical activity in their free time. Activity is a great way to help protect your spine and strengthen key structures, so long as you don’t overdo it. Many millennials have a routine and stick to it, but if you’re always going for a run or ignoring your core during a lifting routine, you could set yourself up for a repetitive stress or muscle strain injury. Make sure that you vary your workouts enough so that different muscle groups get challenged, and give your body the rest it needs to really benefit from these workouts.
- Ignoring Small Problems – Whether it’s because they are afraid of the medical bill or they simply don’t want to find time to go to the doctor, many young adults try to push through back pain and go on with their normal life. If you choose to ignore the warning signs from your body that there is a problem, odds are it’s only going to get worse and affect you for a longer period of time. Trust us when we say that it is in your best interest to proactively treat back pain and discomfort while the problem is in its infancy instead of trying to treat a full blown herniated disc or nerve impingement. It can also be much more costly from a financial standpoint if you ignore the small problem, so treat your discomfort head on and let us help you put your spine pain in the past.
Whether you’re young, old or somewhere in between, if you’re dealing with back pain, reach out to Dr. Sinicropi and let us help get you back on the path to total body wellness.
