Back Pain Symptoms And How You Alleviate Back Pain Back pain comes in two forms, acute and chronic, and is most often felt in the lower back. Acute pain comes on suddenly and intensely, usually from doing something you shouldn't be doing or from doing it in the wrong way. The pain usually lasts a short while. Chronic pain is recurring; any little movement can set it in motion and, for whatever reason, it lingers on and on for what can seem like an eternity. Although back pain is usually preventable (See "Back to Exercise), experts claim that 4 out of 5 Americans will experience it at some time in their lives, given that the lower back supports most of the body's weight. The stability of the lower back depends on the integrity of the vertebral bodies and the intervertebral disks. Work-related back pain is among the most common occupational disorders in the United States, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Cincinnati, Ohio. Delay in return to work remains an expensive component in the overall cost of back pain for workers' compensation claims, as well, the institute notes. And back pain is responsible for more loss of work time and increased medical expenses related to treatment than any other ailment, says Robert Shields, M.D., an osteopathic physician practicing general medicine in Plano, Texas. "This is one of the most common problems I see in my medical practice," he says. "Low back pain strikes 8 out of 10 adults at some point in their lives." Doctors recommend back surgery much less often now than in the past, and only for certain conditions that do not improve after other treatments have been tried. FDA has approved or cleared medical devices such as the Intervertebral Body Fusion device, Anterior Spinal Implant, and Posterior Spinal Implant to treat degenerative disk disease and stabilize and fuse the spine. Implantable spinal cord stimulation devices are another aid in the management of chronic pain of the trunk and limbs. These devices electrically stimulate the spinal cord by discharging a one-time or continuous stream of electrical pulses. The implanted portion of the device consists of a pulse generator (which contains an internal power source similar to that used in a cardiac pacemaker) and lead extensions that are connected to electrodes placed in the spinal canal. The nonimplanted components of the system include the programming device and screening pulse generator, which are controlled by the physician or patient. Contact our local chiropractor to help relieve your chronic back pain