It Sounds Crazy but Ulcers Can Cause Back Pain

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 open sore, lesion or break in the skin or in a mucous membrane is called an ulcer. The thin protective layer that covers / protects the inner surface of body openings like the lining of the stomach and intestines is a mucous membrane. However when people generally use the term 'ulcers', they usually mean the peptic ulcer (the one 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.

There are various symptoms of ulcers. Most common symptoms are intermittent and irritating pain in the stomach which could transmit to other areas like back or shoulder blades, indigestion, heartburn, gas, bloating, appetite loss and nausea.

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.

Apart form the infection, use of non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs can also trigger ulcers. NSAIDs are commonly used by people as pain killers for headaches, sore muscles, menstrual cramps and other similar situations. Belonging to this family of NSAIDs is aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen, excessive use of such type of drugs may prove to be detrimental to the stomach lining and cause ulcers. Mucosal protection is further damaged by over consumption of Alcoholic beverages and heavy smoking.

As a first step towards a diagnosis of ulcers, the doctor first inquires as to the symptoms the patient is having. Besides these symptoms, The physician would look over the patient's medical history for a family history of ulcers or stomach cancers, frequent alcohol consumption, smoking, patients age, weight loss, repeated nausea or vomiting are also taken into consideration. Also incidences of back pain, history of using anti inflammatory drugs or other NSAIDS are looked into. Apart from looking into the symptoms and medical history, endoscopy is the latest method by which a minimal invasive diagnostic medical procedure. It is also accepted as the best diagnostic methods for ulcers. An endoscope is a narrow tube with a light and tiny camera at its end used to study the patient's digestive system. When it's inserted down the patient's throat the doctor can start to examine the stomach lining and duodenum. An endoscope can also carry scissors in to take tissue 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.

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.