Lower back pain causes such as nerve irritation, lumbar radiculopathy, bony encroachment, lumbar strain, and joints and bone conditions are some of the reasons you feel pain in your lower back. All these lower back pain causes will be discussed in this article.
1. Irritation in the nerves
Nerve irritation is one of the common lower back pain causes. The lumbar spine nerves can easily be irritated by any disease anywhere along the nerves’ paths, from the roots of the spinal cord to the surface skin. This condition causes radiculopathy or lumbar disc disease, nerve inflammation, and bony encroachment.
2. Acute and Chronic 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 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.