Lower back pain is a widespread musculoskeletal disease that everyone can experience. In the US, lower back pain is the primary reason for the worker’s disability to continue their job. Furthermore, this is also a common reason why people skip their work. Next to headache, this ailment is the most widespread neurological illness.
This kind of ailment isn’t easy to diagnose. The severity of lower back pain is most of the times not linked to the severity of the actual damage. Sometimes, a simple strain on your back can cause extreme pain that can incapacitate you to stand or move. However, a greatly damaged herniated disc may be really painless.
There are two primary types of back pain, the acute back pain and chronic back pain.
Acute back pain – this type of pain is not long lived or in other words, it’s just short term. The pain basically stays for a couple of days up to three weeks. Mostly, when acute pain is not diagnosed and not properly treated, the pain may lead to more serious and severe illness.
Chronic back pain – this pain is long lived and usually lasts for more than three months. Sometimes the pain may be very extreme then eventually recedes after a number of days. This type of pain is difficult to diagnose.
Lower back pain is cause by several factors. Here, are some common causes of back pain:
• Overuse, fatigue or injury of ligaments, joints and muscles.
• Nerve roots located in the spinal canal may be strained or pressured. This might be caused by:
♣ Osteoarthritis – this disorder usually happens to elder people. Osteoarthritis perturbs the tiny joints located in the spine and this may trigger back pain.
♣ Spondylolisthesis – this happens when a single vertebra slides over another vertebra. This usually results to severe lower back pain.
♣ Herniated disc – this happens when there is a strained disc caused by repeated motion/vibration or greatly pressuring the lower back.
♣ Fractures – when a vertebra is fractured, a severe back pain is usually expected. A strong impact directly to the spine may be the cause of a fractured vertebra.
♣ Spinal deformity – this includes spinal irregularity like kyphosis and scoliosis.
♣ Spinal stenosis – this is the tightening of the spinal canal, which is due, to old age.
• Compression fractures are prevalent to women undergoing post-menopausal and osteoporosis. A simple movement done by a person suffering from osteoporosis may trigger a compression fracture.
• One factor that can cause pain is bacterial infection. A strain of bacteria may infect a spinal disc, a particular bone or even the spinal cord itself, and this will cause pain in lower back.
Suffering from lower back pain is aggravating. Back pains, as mentioned above, aren’t as easy to diagnose as other ailments. That is why you should consult a physician as early as the first onset of the symptoms.
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