Lower Back Pain: What You Need to Know
Your lower back is also known as your lumbar spine. It consists of ligaments, bones, joints, and muscles that all work together. The lower back provides support, flexibility, and strength. It is a complex structure. This can leave your back vulnerable to injury and lower back pain.
You need to understand lower back pain for effective treatment. An accurate diagnosis is necessary. And treatment will then be provided based on your diagnosis and the severity.
What Can Go Wrong With the Lumbar Spine
Your lower back supports the weight of your upper body and spinal column. It also provides mobility for your everyday actions. Your lower back helps you bend and twist. It also flexes and rotates your hips as you walk. Nerves in this location supply pelvis, leg, and feet muscles.
Common injuries causing lower back pain, such as:
Ligaments injuries
Muscles injuries (such as a pulled muscle, ETC)
Disc injuries (such as a herniated disc, ETC)
Your body issues an inflammatory response to injuries. This only increases the pain you will feel.
Sometimes your brain cannot identify the source of pain. The nerves that supply spinal structures and muscles overlap. A degenerated disc can feel the same as a pulled muscle. They both cause inflammation and muscle spasms in the same area. The difference is that muscles heal much quicker. The course of pain can help identify the cause.
Lower Back Pain Symptoms
The symptoms associated with lower back pain can vary. Symptoms can be mild or severe and debilitating. It can also start slowly or suddenly. Lower back pain can be intermittent or gradually worsen with time. Symptoms can be experienced differently, depending on the cause. They can include the following:
- Dull or achy pains in the low back area
- Burning pain that moves to the legs
- Numbness or tingling in the legs
- Muscles spasms and tightness
- Pain that gets worse after prolonged standing or sitting
- Difficulty standing up or walking
Additionally, low back pain can be defined by its onset and duration.
Acute: This is typically sudden pain that lasts for a few days or weeks. It is a normal response to injury. As your body heals, the pain will subside.
Subacute: Pain that lasts between up to 3 months. It is typically mechanical such as a muscle strain. A medical examination is likely to be done by your doctor. This prolonged pain can be severe enough to interfere with daily activities.
Chronic: Pain that lasts longer than 3 months. This type of pain is typically severe, and initial treatment doesn’t help. A medical workup is needed to discover the cause.
Types of Lower Back Pain
There are two common types of low back pain:
Mechanical pain: This is the most common type. Also known as axial pain, this stems from these components around the spine:
- Muscles
- Joints
- Ligaments
- Bones
Mechanical pain is localized in the low back, buttocks, and upper legs. Activities that load the spine influence this pain. Forward, backward, and twisting motions will also exacerbate the pain.
Radicular pain: This occurs if a spinal nerve becomes trapped or inflamed. Radicular pain can follow the nerve into the legs and buttocks. It is typically sharp or burning and can cause numbness and weakness. Additionally, this type of pain is usually felt on one side of the body.
Additional sources of pain can also affect your lower back, such as:
- Neuropathic pain
- Myelopathic pain
- Deformity
- Tumors
- Infections
- Inflammatory conditions (ankylosing spondylitis)
- Pain from another part of the body (kidney stones)
Pain can also develop that has no definitive cause. If this happens, doctors treat the symptoms to bring relief. When the pain is acute or chronic, an accurate diagnosis is needed. This is the only way to provide effective treatment. The right treatment will reduce future incidents of pain.
Additionally, if you are searching for a top spine specialist or top spine surgeon, call us at 888-409-8006.