Back pain can arise due to a number of different reasons:
- It can be of traumatic origin, such as a car accident or a high impact fall.
- It can be degenerative in nature, occurring as the vertebral bones become arthritic and the joints they form no longer move as well.
- It can be postural, developing when poor muscle control causes nerves that emerge off the spine to become irritated.
It can be disruptive to both work and daily life, extremely debilitating, and can progress to larger issues if not treated quickly and effectively.
Symptoms
Issues in the low back can result in symptoms that go beyond simply feeling “low back pain.”
- Irritation to the nerves that emerge off the lumbar spine can cause burning and shooting pain down the legs and into the feet.
- Impingement (compression) on these nerves can cause a lack of feeling or numbness and tingling throughout the lower extremities as well as profound strength loss in the legs and/or feet (a sign of an emergent problem).
- Chronic back pain can also cause poor posture, difficulty walking and difficulty performing routine activities of daily living.
How to Treat it:
Back pain can be treated in different ways, but often, those courses of treatment begin with physical therapy. For low back pain, manual hands-on techniques can relieve pressure and pain from compressed nerves, improve posture, and improve flexibility. In addition to this, physical therapist-directed, core and hip strengthening programs can target the weaknesses that often are responsible for the development of the pain; thereby curing it and preventing a future recurrence.
