There are many lower back pain causes. These include nerve irritation, lumbar strain, bony encroachment, lumbar radiculopathy, and some other joints and bone conditions. Each of these lower back pain causes is reviewed in this article.
1. Nerve Irritation
Irritation in the nerves is one of the known lower back pain causes. Patients with this condition experience extreme pain due to the irritation in their lumbar spine caused by diseases developing on the nerves’ paths, which can affect the roots of the spinal cord up to the skin’s surface. Different diseases caused by back pain, including nerve inflammation, bony encroachment and lumbar diseases are often associated with the irritation in the nerves.
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 is experienced when the vertebrae located in the lumbar spine grows or move, causing the space of the nerves and spinal cords to be limited. Because of the extreme pain it causes, it is considered as one of the major lower back pain causes and is typically caused by foraminal narrowing, spinal stenosis, or spondylolisthesis, which are also the known causes of sciatica pain characterized by a radiating pain in the lower part of the body. Pain felt after walking is known as the spinal stenosis but this can be eased by resting. Different treatments for these conditions are available but the treatment plan is based on how severe or serious the condition is. The treatment plan may be as easy as taking a rest or as complicated as surgical decompression.
4. Lumbar Radiculopathy
Lumbar radiculopathy is defined as the nerve irritation caused by damages that occurred in the vertebrae discs. The damages occur because of a traumatic injury, or wear and tear or the degeneration of the disc’s outer ring, or both. Consequently, the softer central portion of the disc can be herniated or ruptured through the disc’s outer ring and next to the spinal cord. This rupture is the main cause of the sciatica pain that runs down through the leg.
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 lower back pain causes mentioned and discussed above are just some of the many factors causing lower back pain. If you’ve been experiencing pain in your lower back, visit your physician right away so your doctor can devise an effective treatment plan for your lower back pain.
Posted July 16th, 2010 by Author No Comments » This entry was posted on Friday, July 16th, 2010 at 11:11 pm and is filed under low back pain exercises. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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