Causes of Lower Back Pain – and How to Treat It
Nearly 80% of people have back pain, including lower back pain, at some point or another during their life. Because it’s an ailment that almost everyone experiences, you really need to understand what causes lower back pain. It’s important to understand how you can keep severe lower back pain at bay by controlling these factors.
Causes of Lower Back Pain
As we age, we lose a lot of our body’s natural muscle tone and elasticity. As well, bone strength generally decreases as we get older. Loss of fluid results in the discs in your spine becoming less flexible. This results in less protection for the vertebrae. Just the fact of getting older can play a part in experiencing lower back pain.
A strain, sprain or spasm in your muscles or ligaments can result in the rupture of a spinal disc. This leads to increased pressure on your spinal cord nerves. Our back lets us know about this with the neural signals we know as pain. What are the causes of these strains, sprains and spasms? Frequently, this type of injury is caused by attempting to lift heavy objects or overstretching the muscles.
Lower back pain can also be caused by diseases like osteoporosis and arthritis. There are also causes including viral infections, joint or disc irritation and spinal abnormalities.
Lower back pain can also be caused by various physical conditions. Being out of shape or overweight, having poor posture, experiencing stress and even being pregnant are all examples of this. Hip pain and lower back pain sometimes come as a distressing package deal. Scar tissue from previous injuries can also be a cause of lower back pain – this scar tissue buildup can even cause other, more serious injuries.
When to Worry About Lower Back Pain
You should take your lower back pain seriously if it comes along with other symptoms. These might include a fever, a painful cough, loss of bladder or bowel control and muscular weakness, especially in the legs. If your lower back pain is accompanied by these symptoms, contact your physician immediately. They may indicate a pinched nerve or other underlying problem. If you suffer from diabetes, your back pain might be related to neuropathy.
Avoiding Lower Back Pain
By paying attention to proper back pain management techniques, most lower back pain can be avoided. Recurring lower back pain can usually be traced to poor posture. You can work on correcting this. Try exercises to build up strength in your lower back, stand up straight, and don’t forget to use your legs to lift objects instead of your back. Be certain that you pay attention to workplace ergonomics while on the job. This can go a long way towards preventing lower back pain.
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