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In times of chronic back pain one considers that “Do Ulcers Cause back Pain?” A simple answer to this anxious thought is ‘yes’, a peptic ulcer is a probable cause of back pain.

An ulcer is a term that defines an open sore, lesion or break in the skin or in a mucous membrane. The thin tissue that covers the inner surface of body openings like the lining of the stomach and intestines is a mucous membrane. However when people generally refer to ulcers, they usually mean the peptic ulcer that occurs in the upper digestive system. The digestive system is made up of the esophagus, stomach, duodenum and intestines. Ulcers that occur in the stomach are referred to as gastric ulcers, and likewise there are duodenal ulcers and esophageal ulcers. 80% of peptic ulcers are Duodenal ulcers.

They are many signs of ulcers. The most common sign is intermittent and irritating pain in the stomach this pain could also transit to other areas such as the back and shoulder blades, indigestion, heartburn, gas, bloating, appetite loss and nausea. Can back pain be caused by ulcers? Yes, a few more common symptoms of ulcers are headache, itching and a choking sensation.

A few years back it was widely considered by physicians that lots of excessive stress was a major cause of ulcers in people. Their theory was that lots of stress increases the production of hydrochloric acid in the body. This acid is strong enough to eat away the proactive mucous lining of the stomach causing an ulcer. Although still widely accepted by many, there is a newer theory that bacterial infection is responsible for ulcers in more that 70 to 80% of the cases.

Bacteria ‘Helicobacter Pylori’ is the most common bacteria known to cause gastric ulceration. These bacteria can burrow into the mucous layer of stomach and produce inflammation. Excessive acidic juices generated by stomach due to spicy foods are capable of burning the lining of digestive tract and thereby damaging the digestive system. Extreme physical and emotional stress is likely to aggravate an existing ulcer, though it is normally not considered as a root cause for ulcer.

Besides infection, use of non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs which is the acronym can also trigger ulcers. These NSAIDs are rampantly used by people as pain killers for headaches, sore muscles, menstrual cramps and other similar complaints. Aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen belong to this family of NSAIDs and excessive use of such drugs may prove to be detrimental to stomach lining and cause ulcers. Over consumption of Alcoholic beverages and heavy smoking habits could pose a risk of damaging the mucosal protection.

The first step towards diagnosing ulcers the doctor would first inquire about the symptoms. Besides the symptoms, the physician would look over the patient’s medical history for a family history of ulcers or stomach cancers, frequent alcohol consumption, smoking, patient’s age, weight loss, repeated nausea or vomiting incidences, back pain, history of using anti inflammatory drugs or other NSAIDs. Apart from looking into a patient’s history and symptoms, Endoscopy is a new approach to minimally invasive diagnostic medical procedure. It is also well accepted as one of the best diagnostic methods for ulcers. An Endoscope is a narrow tube which contains a light and tiny camera at its end to study the patient’s digestive system. When inserted down the patient’s throat the doctor can examine the walls of the stomach and duodenum. Endoscope has an option that enables it to also carry scissors in order to take small samples of the mucous membrane for further examination of potential stomach cancer.

Patients are not very comfortable with Endoscopy, so imaging techniques are frequently relied on. First the patient is asked to drink down a fluid containing Barium. Barium is a substance / chemical which is opaque and transparent to x-rays. The x-ray image of the patient’s digestive can show abnormalities such as ulcers that may be present where the opaque substance appears as a white patch on the X-ray image. Most ulcer symptoms can be treated with over the counter drugs which can subdue the pain, nausea or general discomfort caused by ulcers.

Do ulcers cause back pain? Yes, ulcers and especially peptic ulcers do cause severe back pain. Such pain is likely to happen immediately after eating when some one is suffering from ulcers.

Filed under: Health & Fitness