Lower Back Pain
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What Could Be Causing My Lower Back Pain?
Lower back pain represents the number one cause of disability worldwide, with nearly half of working Americans reporting that they have back pain each year. Back pain may be acute, meaning it lasts a relatively short period of time, or chronic, meaning that it persists for months or even years.
Although many people experience back pain throughout their lives, there are numerous conditions that cause the symptoms of back pain.
The most frequent factors that contribute to lower back pain include the following:
- Radiculopathy: Radiculopathy refers to the pain that comes as a result of nerves in the lower back area being injured, strained or inflamed. Other symptoms include tingling and numbness.
- Spinal Stenosis: Spinal stenosis occurs when the spinal canal narrows, placing significant pressure on the nerves and nerve roots, causing pain, tingling, numbness and weakness.
- Sciatica: Sciatica is a condition which occurs when the sciatic nerve in the lower back is compressed. It causes sharp, stinging lower back pain that radiates to the buttocks and down one leg.
- Disc Degenerative Disease: When the discs in the spine degenerate abnormally, they heighten your susceptibility to spinal problems and lead to distressing lower back pain.
- Herniated or Ruptured Discs: When a disc in the lower back area herniates, the inner liquid matter leaks into the spinal column applying pressure on the nerves and causing pain.
- Osteoporosis: Osteoporosis causes bones to become weak, frail and highly susceptible to fractures.
- Pinched Nerve: A pinched nerve develops as a result of excessive compression of nerves as they exit the spine. Symptoms include sharp stabbing pain and numbness.
- Facet Joint Disease: Facet joint syndrome is a condition that affects the joints in the vertebrae causing a lot of discomfort and pain in the lower back area.
A sedentary lifestyle, pregnancy, obesity and smoking can also increase your chances of getting lower back pain.
Ready to find out what’s causing your back pain? Try our Condition Checker below to start the process towards achieving relief.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Lower Back Pain?
Although conditions affecting the lower (lumbar) region of the spine typically share a common symptom – lower back pain — you may experience other associated symptoms depending on the underlying problem. The characteristics of lower back pain depend on numerous variables. Some people experience a sharp, stabbing pain when they try to twist or bend over. Others experience a dull, chronic ache that changes in intensity throughout the day.
In addition to lower back pain, you may experience muscle cramping, spasms, or back stiffness. In some cases, back pain can radiate to other areas of the body, including the buttocks, legs, or hips, and may be accompanied by numbness or tingling in the legs or feet.
It’s important to pay attention to the time of day and types of movement that exacerbate your back pain to provide important information to our doctors at NJ Spine & Orthopedic to ensure an accurate diagnosis and the best treatment plan possible.
Each of these conditions come with their own array of issues, with lower back pain being a primary symptom, so it’s important to educate yourself on each to better evaluate your current condition.
Worried your lower back pain may require conservative or minimally invasive treatment? Try our Treatment Finder below to complete a self-diagnosis.
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What Are My Treatment Options For Lower Back Pain?
Numerous spinal conditions cause lower back pain, and some of those common causes include but aren’t limited to injury or overuse, herniated discs, spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis, sacroiliac joint pain, compression fractures and osteoarthritis.
If you’re suffering from temporary, or acute, lower back pain which lasts less than two months, you may qualify for conservative treatment to eliminate pain. These treatment options include physical therapy, over-the-counter and prescription pain medication, consistent rest and, in some cases, lifestyle changes.
After diagnosis, if conservative methods fail to alleviate the pain, we offer several minimally invasive, outpatient treatment options that may alleviate your pain and restore your ability to perform everyday tasks pain-free, such as a laminoforaminotomy to treat spinal stenosis, or an artificial disc replacement to fix a herniated disc.
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Effective pain relief; less scarring— a postage stamp-sized incision (less than an inch in length) is often all that it takes to eliminate your pain.
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