What Causes Lower Back Pain?

Lower back pain, a common condition for most adults, is caused by a lot of different factors. For some people, it can be the result of overwork, unhealthy habits and other underlying back problems. The pain is usually felt in the areas surrounding the lower spine and may come from your muscles and nerves. 

Symptoms 

Symptoms of lower back pain vary depending upon the type and upon what is causing the pain. Back pain is categorized into acute, which is described as a sharp and stinging pain, and chronic, which is known to be a dull aching pain lasting for months. Along with this, you may also feel your legs and feet weakening. 

Your back pain may be a result of not just one but a lot of different things you do every day such as improper ways of sitting, standing, bending and even sleeping. Indications may also differ from one person to another.

Listed below are common signs and symptoms of lower back pain.   

 When you have back pains, standing erect and staying in one position for a period of time will be difficult. One 

 You will feel an extreme discomfort while sitting. 

 Your legs will experience weakness and fatigue 

 The muscles in your lower back will be sore, stiff and painful. 

 The pain radiated throughout your lower back and travels into both your legs and buttocks. 

Underlying Causes 

Muscle strains and injuries usually occur because the lower back bears the weight of our body. But there are certain cases where this is not the major reason for back pains. Usually, back pains are neglected without knowing the real cause of it. Some may not even know that what they are experiencing is an indication of a more serious back problem such as the following. 

 Cancer in the Spine – Developing tumors in the spine presses on the nerves which causes back pains and can also be life threatening. 

 Infection of the Spine – This can also cause back pains along with fever and soreness of the lower back. 

 Injury – Severe back pain can be caused by damaged or injured bones, muscles and ligaments in your back. 

 Herniated disc - This condition occurs when the discs in your lower back presses on the nerves, causing extreme pain. 

 Sciatica – When a herniated disc interrupts the static nerves, this results to a sharp pain that is felt in the back of the legs and your buttocks up to your lower back 

 Stenosis – Spinal stenosis is caused by the narrowing of the space around the spinal column due to bone overgrowth or arthritis, which in turn causes lower back pain. 

 Spondylosis – This is a type of arthritis which develops in the spine. This sometimes happed due to aging and can also cause back pain. 

  Spondylolisthesis – Slipping of the vertebra over another in the spinal column is a condition known as spondylolisthesis, another form of back injury causing pain. 

 Cauda equine - This is a syndrome which causes weakening of legs and numbing of the upper areas. This is a serious neurological condition indicated by back pains that leads to loss of control of your bladder and bowel.   

 Unhealthy lifestyle and poor posture can also lead to back pains. 

If you have an existing back pain, it is important to know that there are a lot of ways to treat it. Getting depressed and over stressed will only worsen your condition. A lot of health products for back pain are available in the market such as back braces, mattresses, ointments, shoes, pillows and  more, all of which promises back pain relief.  There are also recommended exercises for fixing back pains. If you’re worried that you might have any of the conditions mentioned above, it is best to consult your physician about it, especially when you have chronic back pain. 

Although pain medicines can be the fastest way to cure the pain, this will only work temporarily and will do less because it’s not targeting the real cause. Back pains can be alleviated the natural way. A change in lifestyle such as maintaining a healthy weight, practicing good posture, proper bending and lifting, changing your sleeping positions, and doing physical activities such as proper exercise and swimming can really help get rid of lower back pain.  

To sum it all up, causes of back pain varies greatly in a lot of ways and so is the type of treatment for cure. Although it can be as common as headache, you should not take it lightly, especially when you are experiencing it often.