Low Back Pain…Causes and Relief
Low back pain can be defined as a common disorder that involves the nerves, bones, joints, and muscles of the lumbar spine, more specifically from L1-L5 vertebral levels, which is the lowest part of the back just above your buttocks.The pain can range from dull, achy, and stiff, to throbbing, shooting, and sudden sharp feeling.
Low back pain is a very common musculoskeletal disorder that affects millions of individuals annually. It is one of the most common reason for someone to miss work worldwide and can affect anyone, regardless of age, race, or sex. It is one of the top 10 reasons patients seek medical attention.
Symptoms Of Low Back Pain
Depending on the cause of the pain, the symptoms of low back can be variable. Damage to the muscles, ligaments, and joints cause pain, muscle spasms, pain while walking, difficulty twisting, stiffness, and sometimes pain worse on one side rather than the other.
Low back pain can lead to discomfort in other areas of the body, the most common one is sciatica. Sciatica is the term used to describe pain that radiates down one or both legs caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve is made up from lumbar nerve roots, which can become irritated and inflamed from disc disease, arthritis, and severe muscle spasms, leading to pain in the legs.
Causes Of Low Back Pain
While there are several factors which cause low back pain, I have narrowed down these causes into 4 broad categories which include several different conditions.
1. Muscle Fatigue and Strain
Also referred to as a “pulled muscle”, this happens when muscles are overused, underused, atrophied, or fatigued. Muscles can be torn and remain in spasm from an injury, and of course, the more serious the damage, the longer it will take to heal … Chiropractic care is a great treatment option for these types of injuries, and clients usually do well when it is combined with active therapy, such as remedial exercise, stretching, and postural advice.
2. Joint Dysfunction
This type of back pain is often referred to as “mechanical back pain” or “mechanical dysfunction” when referring specifically to the joints. Joint dysfunction means that a joint is not able to move the way is meant to, either from a sedentary lifestyle, injury to the joint, or excess muscle tone. Unfortunately, this leads to many other problems and can become chronic if it is left untreated
Of course, bones can be fractured, and joints can become dislocated from a severe injury, leading to a multitude of other more serious conditions which may need emergency care from a specialist. Chiropractors are experts in the field of restoring joint function by removing the cause of the dysfunction. Under chiropractic care, symptoms can be alleviated and help assist in natural recovery after life threatening conditions have stabilized.
3. Neurological
Low back pain from a neurological source can be a result of a variety of triggers, all of which are related to either the intervertebral disc, spinal cord, or nerve roots as they exit the spinal column. This type of pain can be excruciating and very debilitating, as anyone with a “slipped disc” will tell you.
This type of low back pain usually presents as symptoms in the area which the affected nerve root supplies, so the location of the symptoms is really dependent on the nerve root “level” where the injury or restriction happened. Pain which occurs in one area but originates from dysfunction in another area is called “referred” or “referral” pain.
Neurological problems may include, muscle weakness or fatigue, balance problems and falls, numbness and tingling, burning, sharp and electrical pain, as well as inability to sleep due to the pain.
4. Visceral Referral
In some cases, pain can be felt in the low back a result of a dysfunction or disease of an internal organ. An example of this is low back pain due to a kidney stone.
This happens because the “nociceptors” (pain receptors) of the organ are irritated and the pain that is felt in the skin or muscles of the back shares the same nerve root as the organ. This pain is classical representation of “referred pain” from the kidney to the back.
Effects Of Low Back Pain
Back pain is one of the most common reasons people receive physical therapy in the US. More than 80% of adults develop low back pain at some time in their lives, with sciatica affecting up to 40% of those with low back pain. Sciatica accounts for approximately 5% of people with back pain who go on disability, and for up to 75% of the costs associated with low back pain.
Approximately half of the patients with chronic low back pain become disabled, unable to work or carry out normal daily living activities, or participate in recreational and leisure activities. This can lead to depression, marital strife, family dysfunction, and drug abuse.
Treatment
Despite many scientific advances in medicine over the decades, improvement in the quality of healthcare and the proliferation of various new pharmaceuticals, controlling chronic low back pain can be difficult, but not impossible. Surgical solutions for treating low back pain is difficult, expensive, and is often met with poor results and should only be considered as the last option after a series of conservative care is performed.
Active treatment of lower back pain has two main focuses, the first of which should always be non-operative care. This should include chiropractic, physical therapy, exercise, smoking cessation, and weight loss, while the next level of treatment includes muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatories, and limited use of narcotics.
As it relates specifically to aerobic and weight training exercise, fitness creates an overall protective effect on the spine by increasing muscle strength, endurance, and increasing endorphin levels. This can lead to avoiding conditions such as disuse atrophy, and fibromyalgia, where the pain originates from a sedentary lifestyle accompanied by a poor diet.
Passive treatment includes surgery. It is widely known that surgical intervention for low back pain does not result in excellent long-term results. This is due to scar tissue formation and poor biomechanical loading which can easily have been avoided with noninvasive intervention. Chiropractic care is an important treatment option that plays a significant role in reducing healthcare costs with excellent results.
Chiropractic Care
Low back pain is an expensive drain on healthcare and individuals. When left untreated, low back pain can go on to cause further problems, such as degenerative disc disease, sciatica, pinched nerve, and balance issues, thus increasing the risk of falls and injuries. Chiropractic care saves time and health care costs to combat the effects of low back pain, helping patients get back to the task of living their lives pain-free.
If you live in, or, near Columbus, Ohio, call us at (614) 428-9310 to schedule an appointment.