Back pain generally refers both to the upper and the lower back pain.
The upper back pain, also called middle back pain or thoracic pain, starts from the base of the neck and extends up to the middle area of the back or the top of the lumber spine. Since it is also called thoracic pain, it means it covers the thoracic spine and the chest area corresponding to it.

Lower back pain extends up to the knees and sometimes up to the feet. It includes groin or abdomen, buttock and thighs.

Back pain may have referred symptoms. In that case it is called referred pain. It means that the source of the pain actually lies somewhere away from the site of the pain. It may lie adjacent to it or at some distance from it.

The reason for this is that there is a huge network of interconnecting sensory nerves. When an injury takes place in any structure, its pain is radiated or referred to other structures.

Generally the referred pain is benign, but in some cases it may be referred from more critical areas such as heart, abdomen, gallbladder, etc.
It becomes difficult for the brain to determine which part of the body the pain is coming from.

In most cases, the back pain is caused by imbalance in muscles. It occurs when a person twists, over-stretches or compresses his back muscles by pulling, pushing or lifting something that is too heavy for him.

This type of back pain can ordinarily be cured by do-it-yourself home treatments. They include, exercises, massage, over-the-counter medication such as aspirin, hot and cold applications and so on.

It can also be cured if the patient just takes rest for one or two days. He can place one or two pillows under the knees while he lies down to take rest.

But sometimes the back pain may be caused by serious diseases such as arthritis of the spine, osteoporosis, disc problems, viral infections, congenital abnormalities and so many other factors.

If your back pain refuses to go away after taking simple exercises, massage or over-the-counter medication, you should consult a specialist

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