Causes of Lower Back Pain – Categories
There are various factors that can lead to lower back pain.
Amongst others, they include; an imbalance in body mechanics, psychological factors, secondary response to a disease or condition somewhere else in the body, soft tissue and muscle injury, inflammation and structural problems of the back.
Most patients with chronic low back pain lack an identifiable pathological structure that can explain the pain.
Causes of lower back pain are categorized into various groups basing on the source of the problem.
They include:
MECHANICAL CAUSES
These causes of lower back pain arise due to either functional or anatomical abnormalities of the spine, such as;
-Muscle Strain
About 70% of acute back pain relate to injury or over-use of ligaments, muscles and tendons that bind and support the spine.
-Osteoarthritis
This condition is common in the elderly. This occurs when cartilage in the disks or moving joints of the spine are damaged.
-Spinal Stenosis
Like Osteoarthritis, this condition is common in the elderly and occurs when the spinal canal become narrow. This can be as a result of degenerative disease of the spine or bulging discs. Vertebral discs provide cushioning between the bones. Spinal stenosis accounts for about 3% of lower back pain.
-Discogenic Disk Disease
It accounts for about 10% of lower back pain. It may occur as a result of drying and thinning of discs and can lead to nerve irritation.
-Spondylolisthesis
This is a condition where a vertebra slips over another. If it occurs in patients with Osteoarthritis, the condition can become worse.
-Vertebral Fracture
Post-menopausal women, sufferers of Osteoporosis, the elderly and patients suffering from a deficiency of vitamin D and Calcium may be particularly prone to vertebral fractures. Of course, accidents which cause impact to the spine can also result in fractures of this kind.
-Congenital diseases
This is a condition where a patient has an abnormal curvature of the pain leading to chronic pain.
NONMECHANICAL PHYSICAL CAUSES
There are very few cases of lower back pain that are caused by diseases that affect other parts of the body. Although these causes are few, it is good to know them. They include:
-Ankylosing Spondylitis
This is a hereditary disease that can cause the spinal vertebrae to fuse over time. It is a result of chronic inflammation of the spine.
-Infections
Bacterial and viral infections of the vertebral bodies can cause pain. Pain can originate from the infection in the bone, spinal discs or in the spinal cord.
-Atherosclerosis
Hardening of large arteries that run in front of the spine may be one of the causes of lower back pain.
-Diseases of the Viscera
Infections in organs like the uterus, pelvis, kidney, pancreas among other organs can cause pain that may be referred to the lower back.
NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
Some spinal disorders can injure the nerve roots originating from the spinal cord. Severe injury to nerve roots can cause numbness to both legs, and bladder and bowel problems.
BIOMECHANICAL CAUSES
Poor seating posture and movement patterns can lead to low back pain.
PSYCHOLOGICAL CAUSES
Depression, stress, anxiety and lack of effective coping strategies can worsen lower back pains. The pain can cause stress which ends up aggravating the pain, producing more anxiety or depression, thus further increasing the back pain.
Image: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net