According to the MayoClinic.com, a moderate intake of alcohol, particularly wine, may provide health benefits to your heart, but when alcohol is consumed in excess, many serious health threats can develop. Some mild conditions linked to the excessive use of alcohol can be back pain; severe conditions such as heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems can also become a possibility.
Theories
Alcoholism, or alcohol dependence, is the most severe type of problem associated with drinking alcohol. Alcoholism is linked directly to many adverse health conditions. In many cases, it is not the number of daily drinks you have that determines whether you have an alcoholism problem, but the reaction the your body has to alcohol.
A study performed in 1986 titled “The Relationship between Alcohol Abuse and Low Back Pain,” which was published in oxfordjournals.com, concluded that there was no correlation between back pain and alcohol consumption. However, the same study did conclude that an increase in alcohol consumption may contribute to suffering from back pain.
The Side Effects of Alcoholism
According to WebMD.com, aside of increasing the chances of suffering from back pains, alcohol addiction may also lead to more serious complications such as; bone loss, erectile dysfunctions, liver disorders, neurological complications, cardiovascular problems, gastrointestinal problems and ultimately alcoholism can lead to developing cancer.
Considerations
In theory, not one single cause has been identified and directly linked to the development of back pains, and although oxfordjournals.com indicates that alcoholism can increase or play a big roll in developing back pains, WebMD.com comments that some acquired conditions such as arthritis, scoliosis, spinal stenosis or ankylosing spondylitis could be linked to back pains. Other reasons that you should consider as triggers of back pains are tumors, injuries or other causes such as spasms and strained muscles.
You must also consider having an allergic reaction to alcohol (what your drinking), wine could pose a sulfite allergy and beer/liquor could be causing a grain allergy due to hops, barley, wheat or grain.If the back pain is located on your upper back it could be a respiratory inflammation or the liver and on your lower back the kidney or renal arteries. You could also have hypertension that is being aggravated by the alcohol.
Back Pains and Alcoholism
If back pains seem to affect you constantly, learning where the cause of your condition lies will help you take the necessary measures to alleviate your pain. The impotency of being able to pinpoint a single source for back pains makes it harder to come up with a single effective treatment. However, if you feel that your alcohol dependence is deteriorating your health and playing a role in your back pains, you will need to take control of the situation for the benefit of your well being. If you notice that your back pains are more prevalent after drinking, seek help and consult with your doctor immediately.
Treating Alcohol Dependency
If a doctor concludes that your back pains are being influenced by excessive alcohol use, and you have a hard time getting rid of the habit, it is imperative that you seek help or treatment. However, the only way treatment can begin is if you accept that there is a problem, and that you need to stop drinking. For this to occur, you will need to be motivated to change.
Mayoclinic.com comments that if you are dealing with alcohol dependence, you will need social support and motivation to be able to withdraw permanently from your addiction. Without these factors in place, you may relapse within a few years.
Oxford Journals, Relationship Between Alcohol Abuse And Low Back Pain, Oxford Journals
WebMD, Low Back Pain Topic Overview, WebMD
MayoClinic, Slide show: Causes of Back Pain, MayoClinic
eMedicine Health, Back Pain, EMedicine Health
WebMD, Alcohol problems: How to Stop Drinking, WebMD
WebMD, Alcohol Abuse and Dependence Recovery, WebMD
