Spine
S
E
Educa
ation - Backk Pain
What Is Low
L
Back Pa
ain?
Low back pain
p
is a univers
sal human experience -- almo
ost everyone ha
as it at some po
oint. The lower back, which starts
below the ribcage,
r
is calle
ed the lumbar re
egion. Pain herre can be intens
se and is one of the top cause
es of missed wo
ork.
Fortunatelyy, low back pain
n often gets be
etter on its own. When it doesn
n't, there are efffective treatme
ents.
Symptom
ms of Low Ba
ack Pain
Symptoms
s range from a dull
d ache to a stabbing
s
or sho
ooting sensation. The pain ma
ay make it hard to move or sta
and up
straight. Ac
cute back pain comes on sudd
denly, often aftter an injury from sports or he
eavy lifting. Pain
n that lasts more
than three months is cons
sidered chronic
c. If your pain is
s not better witthin 72 hours, you
y should cons
sult a doctor.Se
evere
back pain after
a
a fall or injjury should be checked out byy a health care professional. Other
O
warning signs
s
include a loss
of bowel orr bladder contro
ol, leg weaknes
ss, fever, and pa
ain when cough
hing or urinatin
ng. If you have any
a of these
symptoms along with you
ur back pain, co
ontact your doc
ctor.
Muscle Strain
S
or Scia
atica?
Back pain is almost alwayys related to the muscles in th
he back or the coverings
c
of the muscle which
h is called the fascia.
f
The kind off back pain thatt follows heavyy lifting or exerc
cising too hard is often caused
d by muscle strain. But somettimes
leg pain can be related to a disc that bulges or ruptures
s. If a bulging or
o ruptured disc
c presses on a spinal
s
nerve, pa
ain
may run fro
om the buttockk down one or both
b
legs. This is called sciatic
ca.
Back Pain Culprits

Y
Your
Job - If your
y
job involve
es lifting, pulling
g, or anything th
hat twists the spine,
s
it may co
ontribute to bac
ck
pa
ain. However, sitting
s
at a deskk all day comes
s with risks of itts own, especia
ally if your chairr is uncomforta
able or
yo
ou tend to slouch.

Y
Your
Bag- Althhough you may wear your pursse, backpack, or
o briefcase ove
er your shoulde
er, it is the lowe
er back
th
hat supports the upper body --- including any additional weig
ght you carry. So
S an overstufffed bag can stra
ain
th
he lower back, especially
e
if you
u carry it day affter day. If you must tote a he
eavy load, consider switching to
t a
w
wheeled
briefcas
se.

Y
Your
Workoutt - Overdoing itt at the gym or golf course is one
o of the mos
st common cau
uses of overextended
muscles leading
m
g to low back pa
ain. You're espe
ecially vulnerab
ble if you tend to
t be inactive during the work week
an
nd then spend hours at the gyym or softball field on the wee
ekend.

Y
Your
Posture - Mom was rigght when she said, "Stand up straight!"
s
Your back supports weight best wh
hen
yo
ou don't slouch
h. This means sitting
s
with good lumbar support for your low
wer back, shoulders back, with
h feet
re
esting on a low stool. When sttanding, keep weight
w
evenly ba
alanced on both feet.

H
Herniated
Dis
sc - The spine'ss vertebrae are cushioned by gel-like discs thhat are prone too wear and tear from
ag
ging or injuries. A weakened disc
d may rupturre or bulge, putting pressure on
o the spinal ne
erve roots. This
s is
kn
nown as a hern
niated disc and can cause inte
ense leg pain. Bulging
B
or herniated discs do not
n usually cau
use
ba
ack pain.
Chronic Conditions
C
- Several chronic conditions can
c lead to low back pain.




Sp
pinal stenosis is a narrowing of
o the space arround the spina
al cord, which can
c put pressurre on the spinal
ne
erves.Stenosis causes leg pain primarily but the arthritic co
onditions that le
ead to stenosis
s can result in back
b
pa
ain.
Sp
pondylitis referrs to chronic ba
ack pain and stiffness due to severe
s
inflamm
mation of the sp
pinal joints.
Sp
pondylolisthesis refers to a malalignment
m
off the spinal bon
nes. This is ofte
en a cause of back
b
and or leg pain.
Fiibromyalgia causes widesprea
ad muscle aches, including ba
ack pain.
Who's at Risk for Low
w Back Pain??
Most people get their firstt taste of low back pain in their 30s. The odd
ds of additional attacks increa
ase with age. Otther
our low back ma
ay hurt include:
reasons yo

Be
eing overweigh
ht

In
nactive lifestyle

Jo
obs that require
e heavy lifting
are for Low Back
B
Pain
Home Ca
Back pain due
d to muscle strain
s
will usua
ally get better on its own, but you
y can take stteps to make yo
ourself more
comfortablle. A heating pa
ad or warm batths may provide
e temporary pa
ain relief.
The Bed Rest Debate
e
When your back hurts, you may not feel like getting outt of bed. But if the
t problem is muscle strain, doctors recom
mmend
returning to
o your normal activities
a
as soon as possible. Studies sugge
est that any mo
ore than a day or
o two of bed re
est
can actuallly make the paiin worse and may
m reduce mus
scle tone and flexibility.
ng Low Backk Pain
Preventin
There's no sure way to prevent back pain
n as you age, but
b there are ste
eps you can takke to lower you
ur risk:




Sttay at a healthyy weight.
Exxercise regularly.
Lift with your leg
gs, not your bac
ck.
M
Make
sure your work
w
station po
osition isn't con
ntributing to yo
our pain.
Diagnosing Low Backk Pain
To help you
ur doctor diagn
nose the source
e of low back pain, be specific
c in describing the
t type of pain
n, when it starte
ed,
related sym
mptoms, and an
ny history of ch
hronic condition
ns. Your doctorr will probably not
n need to ord
der X-rays, CT or
o MRI
scans befo
ore starting trea
atment.
Yoga
If back pain
n doesn't go aw
way in three mo
onths, there's evvidence that yo
oga can help. In
n one study, people who took 12
weeks of yo
oga classes ha
ad fewer sympttoms of low bac
ck pain than pe
eople who were
e given a book about
a
care for back
b
pain. The benefits
b
lasted several
s
months
s after the classes were finish
hed. The study suggests
s
conventional stretching
also works just as well. Make
M
sure your instructor is exxperienced at te
eaching people with back pain
n and will modiffy
or you as neede
ed.
postures fo
Physical Therapy
If back pain
n has left you in
nactive for a lon
ng time, a rehabilitation progrram can help yo
ou strengthen your
y
muscles and
a
get back to
o your daily activities. A physic
cal therapist ca
an guide you through stretche
es, strength exe
ercises, and low
wimpact cardio that will help you be fitter without straining your back.
Strengthe
ening the Ba
ack
Two types of strength-training moves th
hat may benefitt the lower backk are flexion an
nd extension exxercises. In flexion
exercises, you
y bend forwa
ard to stretch th
he muscles of the
t back and hips. In extensio
on exercises, yo
ou bend backw
ward to
develop the
e muscles that support the sp
pine. One example is doing leg
g lifts while lying on your stom
mach. Dependin
ng on
the cause of
o your back pa
ain, there are so
ome exercises you
y should nott do. If you have
e back pain, ma
ake sure to talkk to
your doctor about what exxercises are sa
afe for you.
Spinal Manipulation
Chiropracto
ors and some osteopathic
o
doctors use spina
al manipulation
n to treat low ba
ack pain by app
plying pressure
e with
their hands
s to bones and surrounding tis
ssues. This trea
atment is not appropriate
a
for everyone.
Massage
e Therapy
Massage may
m relieve chro
onic low back pain,
p
especially when combine
ed with exercise and stretchin
ng. Researchers
s
noted patie
ents who did all 3 were able to
o move around easier and had
d less short term
m and long term
m pain.
Acupuncture
Can acupuncture treat ba
ack pain? The evidence is mixe
ed. A study of several
s
hundred
d people with lo
ong-lasting bac
ck pain
prising results. Those
T
who had
d simulated acu
upuncture (invo
olving toothpickks tapping the skin) got the sa
ame
found surp
benefits as
s those who had
d real acupuncture with needles. After eight weeks, both grroups had greater relief than people
p
who did no
ot have acupunc
cture.
nagement
Pain Man
Your docto
or may prescrib
be medication or
o may refer you
u to a pain man
nagement docttor to manage your
y
chronic ba
ack
pain.
Medicatio
ons
Mild back pain
p
often feels
s better with ovver-the-counter pain relievers, such as acetam
minophen, ibup
profen, or napro
oxen.
Pain-relieving creams may be helpful forr muscle aches
s. For severe pa
ain or chronic pain,
p
your docto
or may recomm
mend
prescription medication.
s
Injections
If simpler therapies and medications
m
are
en't helping, you
ur doctor may recommend
r
injjections to the back. One
procedure, called a nerve root block, targ
gets irritated ne
erves. Injections for back pain
n usually contaiin steroid
medication
n.
Surgery
If long-lasting back pain is
s interfering witth your daily liffe, and other tre
eatments have not provided re
elief, you may be
b a
f surgery. Depending on the
e cause of your pain, a surgeon may remove a herniated dis
sc, widen the sp
pace
candidate for
around the
e spinal cord, an
nd/or fuse two spinal vertebra
ae together.