Lower Back Pain Causes What are the Exact Reasons?
Joints and bone conditions, lumbar strain, bony encroachment, lumbar radiculopathy, and nerve irritation are some of the common lower back pain causes. Read on if you want to know more about these lower back pain causes because this article reviews each of these causes.
1. Irritation in the nerves
Being one of lower back pain causes, nerve irritation can cause the sufferer too much pain because any disease along the path of nerves can irritate the lumbar spine. This can occur anywhere from the spinal cord roots to the skin surface. This condition is often associated with different back pain diseases such as lumbar disc disease, bony encroachment, and nerve inflammation.
2. Lumbar Strain
Being one of lower back pain causes, a lumbar strain can be very painful as it is the result of a stretching injury that occurred in the lower back muscle ligaments and tendons, thereby causing different degrees of microscopic degeneration in the affected tissues. This condition is often caused by trauma, overuse, or improper use. Lumbar strain is classified into two types: acute lumbar strain which means that the lower back pain has been felt by the patient for days or weeks while chronic lumbar strain has been felt for more than three months already.
3. Bony Encroachment
Bony encroachment, one of the common lower back pain causes, is the result of any growth or movement of the lumbar spine vertebrae that limits the encroachment or space for the adjacent nerves and spinal cord. Bony encroachment is caused by foraminal narrowing, spondylolisthesis, and spinal stenosis. These conditions often lead to Sciatica pain that runs down the lower portion of the body. Spinal stenosis causes pains in the lower extremity, which can be worse with walking activities and can be better by resting. Treatment of these conditions can vary depending on how severe the condition and can range from resting to surgical decompression done by removing the bone that compresses nervous tissue.
4. Lumbar Radiculopathy
Lumbar radiculopathy is one type of irritation in the nerves, often caused by damaged discs located along the vertebrae. This can be due to wear and tear of the discs’ outer ring, traumatic injury, or combination of the two. As a result, the central portion may be damaged, thereby causing sciatica pain characterized by extreme pain in the legs.
5. Joint and Bone Conditions
Joint and bone conditions are also common lower back pain causes. These conditions include congenital injury, degenerative injury, or injuries caused by the inflammation of joints (arthritis). Congenital injuries or bone conditions include spina bifida and scoliosis. Degenerative joint and bone conditions result from the changes in our body’s cartilage. One of the common degenerative joint and bone conditions is called spondylosis, or the narrowing of the normal space between the vertebrae. Other joint and bone conditions include fractures and arthritis.
The abovementioned lower back pain causes are just a few of the many other causes of lower back pain. Consulting your doctor about any of the known lower back pain symptoms will greatly help you come up with a perfect treatment plan for your condition.
July 21 2010 01:22 am | Back Pain Treatment