The causes of lower back pain are a combination of muscle strain, overuse, and injury to the muscles, discs and ligaments that support the spine. Most experts believe that muscle strain can lead to an overall imbalance of the spine’s structure. This can lead to a constant tension on the muscles, bones, discs, and ligaments, making the back much more prone to injury or even re-injury.
The causes of lower back pain or lumbosacral area, add on to one another. As an example, after straining muscles, you will likely walk or move in different ways to avoid pain or use the muscles that are not painful. This can cause you to strain other muscles that usually do not move in that way.
Some of the most common causes of lower back pain include overuse or injury of ligaments, facet joints, muscles, and the sacroiliac joints, pressure on the nerve roots in the spinal cord, and compression fractures of the spine. Compression fractures are often diagnosed in post-menopausal women with osteoporosis or in women or men after long term corticosteroid use.
When it comes to the pressure on the nerve roots, this can be caused by several things. A herniated disc, which is often brought on by vibration or repeated motion or sudden heavy strain can be one of the many causes of lower back pain. Osteoarthritis develops with age, and when it affects the small facet joints, it can be one of the causes of lower back pain. Spinal fractures that are caused by significant force such as from a bicycle or auto accident, a direct hit to the spine, or compressing the spine by falling on one’s head or bottom cause lower back pain. As well, spinal deformities, including scoliosis or kyphosis, can be causes for lower back pain.
Other causes of lower back pain include joint inflammation or arthritis of the spine, bacterial infections, spinal tumors or growths that develop on the spine, Paget’s disease that causes abnormal bone growth that affects the spine, skull, chest, legs, and pelvis, and Scheuermann’s disease where one or more of the vertebrae develop deformities that causes curvature of the spine or chest region. The causes of lower back pain can include aortic aneurysm, peptic ulcers, pelvic inflammatory disease, gall bladder disease, pancreatitis, kidney stones or urinary tract infections, and prostate disease.
Ironically, the state of mind has an effect on the level of pain and whether it becomes chronic. Mental causes of lower back pain include depression, stress, unhappy in work, or legal battles.
There are many causes of lower back pain. To find out which one is affecting you, visit your doctor or family physician to start the process of diagnosing the problem of your back pain. Once this has been accomplished, this can lead you towards a life free of back pain. A back pain free life is a luxury many people would like to have, and after a visit to your doctor, you too can have that life.