What Causes Your Lower Back To Hurt – Common 4 Causes

Oh, my lower back hurts! How many times have we heard it said or said it ourselves? The causes are endless. Did I sleep wrong? Did I work too hard in the garden? Is my age getting the best of me, and a disc ruptured? The problem can lie anywhere between the neck and the bottom of your spine. It could even be something unrelated to the back; for example, kidney stones.

Many people who suffer from lower back pain will automatically think there will be a link to their lifestyle. In some cases, this will probably be the case as those in the medical profession who spend their working day lifting people, or those in the building trade lifting heavy weights are bound to get wear and tear to their backs over the years.

The lumbosacral area

The medical name for the lower back is largely constructed of muscles and these are prone to tear or at least ache.  As the job of this muscle is to protect the spine, it is better to have some damage there rather than actual damage the spine.

When hoping to find your lower back pain cause it is best to define exactly what is happening when you feel the pain.  There are a number of different types of pain and each will have its own cause and cure.

Nerve pain

This is referred to as sciatica and often affects the leg as much as the lower back.  This is when a nerve becomes trapped.  There will also be a lot of people who will slip a disc and this will also cause lower back pain.

The majority of cases – 95% or so will never know what their lower back pain cause is and can just hope that it will go as quickly as it came or can at least be controlled with medication.

Medical Conditions

Unfortunately, there will be small percentages who find that they have more serious conditions and their lower back pain cause should be identified by a doctor.  Arthritis is one such reason but there can be even more severe reasons such as a tumor or serious damage to the spine.

As the main concerns will be nonspecific there are a few ways to determine if this may be a
hopefully temporary and not too worrying lower back pain cause or symptom.

Bad posture

Is a killer on the back. When I catch myself slouching at the computer, it’s usually because my back hurts or my neck hurts, or both. Of course, an injury experienced in a car accident years ago doesn’t help. The doctor told me the older I get, the more it will bother me.

Some people were born with curvature of the spine or developed it later. Bone pain from osteoarthritis can make the back hurt. Then there’s the herniated disc that provokes a bad case of sciatica. The list goes on: pregnancy, muscle strain, overexertion, kidney stones, inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, endometriosis, menstrual cramps and sitting for long periods of time. Time and space do not permit a complete rundown of what can make a back hurt.

There are a few questions you can ask:-

1. Have you lifted anything heavy recently?
2. Have you slept awkwardly or moved suddenly and then felt the pain?
3. Has this happened before and then gone after a couple of days?

If any of the above apply it is quite likely that there is going to be a pain for a few days and then it will clear up.  It can, however, be very painful as just because it is non-specific it does not mean that it is always going to be mild.

If this is not the case and you are still don’t know your lower back pain cause after a couple of weeks it could be that you are suffering from chronic back pain and this will need to be treated by a doctor as there could be a more serious reason for this happening.

In order to fully understand why you are suffering from the non-specific lower back pain, you will need to examine your symptoms carefully.  If the pain continues and cannot be eased at all or seems to spread then it is something that needs further examination.  This also applies to bouts of incontinence and can even be age specific.  If you are between 20 and 50 it may not be as serious as it will be for those younger or older.

Is there anything we can do to prevent back pain? Regular proper exercise helps keep the back muscles strong, and stretching exercises keep the body flexible and muscles limber. It’s important to do exercises that keep all the muscles in the body well-toned. If we work on developing great abs, but neglect the muscles we sit on, we’re asking for trouble. The strength of the muscles won’t be balanced and could cause the stronger ones to pull on the weaker ones.

If you don’t exercise that much, at least take some short, but frequent walks.  Just getting up from your desk at work, and taking a walk around the office for a few minutes will help. Taking a few minutes to get up and move around periodically can help keep muscles from stiffening up and causing pain. If your leisure time activities or your job is strenuous, it’s a good idea to take the time to do something that uses a different set of muscles than you normally use. Balance is important for a healthy back.

If your back hurts, but it’s not in the muscles or spine, it might be a good time to call your doctor for an appointment. Shingles are preceded by pain along the nerves that it affects. Some illnesses, such as kidney stones, endometriosis, uterine fibroids or any illness that affects the pelvic area, can make the back hurt.

If in doubt, go to the doctor. He or she will ask you a series of questions to help identify what is causing the back pain, such as where the pain is located and what kind of pain it is. Is it stabbing, throbbing or aching? Did a particular kind of physical activity lead up to the pain, like playing with the grandchildren? An honest evaluation goes a long way to finding a solution.

Once the doctor diagnoses the issue, they will work with you to create an effective treatment plan for you to follow. In no time at all, you’ll be amazed at how much better you feel. So, get the ball rolling today by calling your doctor for an evaluation to find out exactly why your back hurts.

What Causes Your Lower Back To Hurt, Last Updated: 28/3/2018