Lower Back Pain Causes – Your Basics Guide

August 4, 2010

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. Nerve Irritation

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

Lumbar strain is one of the known lower back pain causes suffered by many low back pain patients. This condition often occurs after an injury caused by stretching occurred in the tendons and ligaments in the lower back muscle. This occurrence causes varying levels of microscopic degenerations in the tissues affected by the injury, often through overuse improper use, or trauma. Lumbar strain is considered acute if the patient has experienced pain for only days or weeks while it is considered chronic if the pain is experienced for over three months.

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 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 one of the leading lower back pain causes. These conditions can be congenital injury acquired from birth or wear and tear injury due to the degeneration of tissues, muscles, and bones, or due to injuries caused by arthritis or inflammation of the joints. Some of the more common congenital injuries are spina bifida and scoliosis while spondylosis is one of the more common degenerative injuries. Fractures and arthritis are two of the more common joint and bone conditions

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.