| |||
 | |||
Most Americans (8 out of 10) will experience back pain at some point in their lives. But while that dull ache or sharp pain is an all-too-common problem, many of the causes are a mystery to us until the discomfort kicks in.
"Wear and tear on your discs is cumulative -- it all adds up," says Arya Nick Shamie, M.D., a spokesperson for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and an associate professor of spine surgery at the University of California - Los Angeles.
Watch out for these surprising culprits to keep existing pain from getting worse.
"Weekend Warriors":
Irregular exercise is a big contributor to back pain, and the "weekend warriors," those who are sedentary during the week and push hard on the weekends, are the face of this contributor to pain."If you take on something tough after being relatively sedentary, you can seriously hurt yourself," explains Arya Nick Shamie, M.D., a spokesperson for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and an associate professor of spine surgery at the University of California - Los Angeles.
And it's not just the risk of injury while you're doing the activity you have to worry about. "If you are doing high-impact sports without cross-training first to strengthen your core, your spine won't have strong enough muscles to support the impact," says Robert S. Bray, M.D., the founding director of DISC (discmdgroup.com) and a neurological spine surgeon.
He recommends dedicating as little as 15 minutes three times a week to basic core exercises and stretching to help prepare your core for more intense workouts later in the week.
