Chronic back pain is a serious condition that affects a large portion of the population. The reasons are varied from pulling a muscle to being in an accident.

The one thing these all have in common is the excruciating and lasting pain. Although there are many reasons people develop chronic back pain, trucking is at the top of the list. If you are an individual that at one time suffered from chronic back pain, trucking is not an occupation you want to get into.

Back pain, especially lower back pain is the second most reason why people see a doctor, behind colds and flu. Statistics show that up to 60% of the population may see a doctor in any given year for back pain. Of all the reasons a person may get chronic back pain, trucking is one of the most frequent.

Not only does sitting in one place for a long time in a truck aggravate a back problem, but it can often be the cause of chronic back pain. Trucking is an occupation where the driver puts in many hours each day, sitting in the same position with very few breaks in a day. Unlike some things that cause chronic back pain, trucking is one where there is little or no break in the routine.

If you’re playing a game of tennis or jogging and develop back pain, you will rest for days afterwards to give your back a chance to heal. Truck drivers, on the other hand, have to keep going day after day doing the same thing that caused the problem. Truckers, especially over the road drivers, don’t get home often enough to seek medical attention for something they think will go away on their days off or on its own.

The result is that it eventually turns into chronic back pain. Trucking companies are constantly being urged to upgrade the equipment in their trucks such as the steering wheel and seats.

Steering wheels should be able to be adjusted for the driver’s reach and rake.

The seats should not only be comfortable but should be able to be adjusted for tilt and height. With the truck drivers spending as much time as they do driving on the road, they need every advantage possible for good ergonomics and safe driving. The upholstery and structure of the seat should also be designed to hit the human body.

If truck drivers are to avoid chronic back pain, trucking companies need to work towards making their trucks more “driver friendly”. This not only helps the driver, but also will help the trucking company avoid potential workmen’s compensation claims.

Chronic back pain affects such a large number of people today. For some of the sufferers the pain is a temporary ailment that can be fixed such as a torn ligament or pulled muscles.

These may seem like minor problems, but if left untreated can escalate into excruciating pain that lasts for months and becomes chronic pain. There are also those that are less fortunate and can’t find a quick fix for their back pain. Some have chronic back pain for years.

Individuals with chronic back pain add up to a large number as well as the number of these that lose many days from work. Recent statistics show that 1/3 of the population in the United States suffer from chronic back pain. Many of these end up losing their jobs due to the chronic back pain and hiring practice.

Many companies make finding a new job very difficult. Although there are many laws against discrimination for one reason or another, many employers will use the chronic back pain and hiring practice of their company to find an excuse to not hire you.

Many groups have been formed with people that have all be affected by chronic back pain and hiring practices of an employer, either past or present.

These groups are really helpful organizations where the individuals get together and share their stories about problems they’ve encountered either medically or on the job force. There are websites that deal with the situation of chronic back pain and hiring practices of different companies as well as ways to solve these problems.

Some of the groups are with people that suffer from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

They get together and discuss their lives as well as offer each other tips and advice on treatment methods and options available. Other counties have Chronic Pain Management Groups. Many sufferers of chronic back pain and hiring practice problems find these support groups very helpful and satisfying.

It’s unfortunate that so many people today suffer from chronic back pain to the extent that it affects their job. Unlike headaches colds and flu, chronic back pain usually is with people for months. In this time, it usually will affect any person’s job to some extent.

If the job is a physical one, the person’s job performance is going to be affected more resulting in time lost from work as well as possible workmen’s compensation claims against the company. For this reason many employers are hesitant about hiring someone with a history of chronic back pain and their hiring practice will be to not hire them. They may not tell you this is the reason, but may say a different employee was more qualified.

This is another reason to seek medical treatment at the onset of a back problem before it gets serious and turns into a chronic problem.

Chronic back pain can be serious or may be something that can be easily taken care of with medical treatment. Many people that have back pain from time to time believe they have chronic back pain.

Chronic back pain, however, is back pain that the patient has experienced for longer than three months. Periodic back pain that has been present less than that time is considered acute pain.

Back pain, even chronic back pain, is often very hard for a doctor to diagnose.

A person may have numerous tests and X-rays that all come back negative for problems and still be sufferers of chronic back pain. On the other hand, some patients can have X-rays show up serious problem and not feel any pain. In some instances, there may be serious problems with the spine, where the person should feel severe pain or discomfort, but they feel little or no pain.

Chronic back pain is very common today. It is, in fact, the most expensive benign medical condition in the workforce and country. It is also the largest reason for limited activities in people under the age of 45.

In addition to it lasting at least 3 months, it is also usually a result of serious trauma to the spine or a degenerative condition of the spine. Other possible causes of chronic back pain are fibrositis, inflammation and metabolic bone conditions.

Chronic back pain, in many cases, is in the lower part of the back, thus referred to as chronic low back pain.

Although doctors may give a good prognosis for chronic lower back pain, it still affects many individuals in their daily lives, often leaving many disabled for a long time. Chronic back pain is probably one of the most frustrating physical ailments, especially if doctors can’t find any “visible” reason for the pain.

After much research, doctors have now determined that the brain of a patient with chronic back pain may age as much as 20 times faster than normal.

The reason is because chronic back pain is said to shrink the brain, sometimes as much as 11%. The part of the brain that it affects is the part that helps us with memory and processing information also referred to as the gray matter of the brain. Research also believes that the brain goes back to its normal size when the back pain goes away.

Another problem brought on by chronic back pain is the way it affects the quality of our life, leaving us to feel unproductive, anxious and often depressed. Chronic back pain will often cause sleeping disorders and insomnia. The reason for this is because during the day we are doing and thinking of other things other than our back pain. When we go to bed, however, our brain “shuts down” to other thoughts other than sleep, so we are more aware of the back pain.