One of the most common medical issues that affect people today is the complaint of pain in the lower back. Although most cases of lumbar back pain are easy to resolve, there are some instances where it may be indicative of a more serious problem. Before treating any kind, it is imperative that you understand what kinds of things may have caused the pain in the first place. There are a lot of different things that can happen to cause back injuries, and all of them have different degrees of the severity of the injury.

The most common occurrence of injury to the back shows up after a person strains the lumbar muscles. This normally happens after a person has been lifting heavy objects, and many times the patient may not even remember the actual incident that caused the muscle pain in the first place. Even though this kind of injury can be severe, often times the pain will subside on its own a few weeks after the accident.
Another common cause of injury to the back is called a ruptured or herniated intervertebral disc. This happens when the cushion between the spinal vertebras gets pressed out from its normal spot and affects the spinal nerves that are so close to the edge of the spinal discs. This causes the nerves around the herniated disc to be pinched and thus causes the pain.
Discogenic pain is simply when one of the spinal discs has pain but has not herniated and is a very common cause of not only pain but also disability. Different things like muscle strain or spinal stenosis can cause this kind of back injury, and it has even been caused by degeneration of the lumbar intervertebral discs. Many times pain caused by a degenerative discogenic complication can subside over time with simple treatments and taking care to not overly strain the area affected.
One group of people that is especially affected by lumbar back pain is the elderly because many causes of pain are considered degenerative. As mentioned earlier, discogenic pain can be caused by something called spinal stenosis. Arthritis and other spine conditions can cause the spine to become constricted and squeeze the spinal nerves. As this gets worse, the spinal canal may squeeze too tightly and cause strain on the back.
Arthritis is also very common in the part of the population that is considered to be aging. Sometimes, arthritis can just be in the spinal joints and not affect the spinal cord but still cause the lower back to hurt. Even though arthritis is most common in joints that are used more frequently like the knees or fingers, lumbar spine arthritis can occur in the spine’s small joints. Usually movement will cause the pain to flare up. Another degenerative problem is called spondylolisthesis. The pain from this is caused when the adjacent vertebra begins to slip. The instability of the spinal column can cause the structures of the vertebra to decrease and pain can ensue.
One of the most serious conditions the affect the elderly is called osteoporosis. This is when the bones of the body deteriorate and become brittle and more susceptible to breaking. Osteoporosis in the vertebra can cause serious compression fractures in the spine and cause severe pain and discomfort.
Treatments for injuries to the lower back vary based on the cause or causes of the pain. The most important thing to remember is during the time period of recovery from this kind of injury, you should be careful not to put strain on the back muscles because this will speed along the recovery and keep the lower back from getting more injured and hurt worse. Patients have also found that things like ice, heat, and pain medications prescribed by a doctor can help alleviate the pain as well. However, it is important that if these fundamental treatments do not cause the pain to subside a doctor should be contacted for a proper medical evaluation so proper treatment can occur.

Comments are closed.