Lower Back Pain
Lower back pain represents the number one cause of disability worldwide, with nearly half of working Americans reporting 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 symptoms of back pain.
What Could Be Causing My 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.
Ready to find out what’s causing your back pain? Try our Condition Check Tool below to start the process towards achieving relief.
What is the Right Treatment for Me?
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 are 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.
Worried your lower back pain may require conservative or minimally invasive treatment?
Try our Treatment Check Tool below to complete a self-diagnosis.