Lower back pain – how likely am I to experience it?
Lower back pain is also known to patients as lumbago.
Statistics now confirm that 80% of adults will experience lower back pain at least once in their lives.
Lower back pain can take various forms.
- It may feel sharp, stabbing, intense and localised, or like a deep pain spread across a larger area of the lower back.
- Sometimes it settles quickly. In many cases, it becomes chronic discomfort, with flare-ups and periods of remission.
- Here are the 7 most common causes of lower back pain.
Lower back pain – 7 causes you should know about
- Herniated disc – A herniated disc diagnosed through imaging, such as an MRI scan, may be completely symptom-free. However, when the herniation starts to compress nerve roots, painful muscle spasm may develop in the lower back as the body’s ‘protective response’. In this case, lower back pain may also be accompanied by neurological symptoms, such as numbness and weakness.
- Fractures due to overuse or osteoporosis – Excessive and continuous strain on the spine, and even more commonly osteoporosis, can lead to small vertebral fractures. These fractures are extremely painful and will certainly prompt the patient to seek immediate medical help.
- Rheumatic diseases or chronic conditions – Lower back pain is often the result of other chronic conditions, such as rheumatic diseases, spondyloarthritis, osteophyte formation due to metabolic abnormalities or repeated injuries to the same area.
- Malignancies – Less commonly, there are rarer causes such as bone marrow malignancies, multiple myeloma or a tumour in the area. In these cases, of course, lower back pain is the least of the patient’s concerns, and these conditions require urgent treatment.
Whatever your symptoms, avoid making your own diagnosis or assumptions.
A healthcare professional can guide you towards resolving the problem.
Our experienced TherapyLab therapists will guide you step by step towards permanently eliminating lower back pain.
