Everyone at one point in their life has experienced lower back pain or will experience it in the future. 80% of people are affected with lower back pain because of lifestyle choices or underlying diseases. One needs to understand that lower back p+ain is a symptom and not the cause. Lower back pain will hinder your daily lifestyle by restricting your mobility, sleep, etc. There are both surgical and non-surgical ways of treating low back pain.
If the condition is not critical, then it will improve within two weeks. Otherwise, it will take a long time to recover. The pain that is associated with a lower back problem becomes worse with time and stressful activities. Depending on how frequently does low back pain occurs, you will have to visit the doctor and treat accordingly.
Possible Causes Of Lower Back Pain
If your lower back pain is lasting for more than three months, then the condition is chronic. Lower back pain is a symptom and not the cause and needs to get treated immediately. So here is a list of common causes of lower back pain that requires immediate medical attention.
Degenerative Disc Disease
In the growing years, the intervertebral disc will be full of water. As people will start to age, their hydration will reduce, and the disc will begin to wear down. Due to dehydration, the disc won’t be able to resist the forces and will cause pain due to weakening and tearing. The condition can worsen, and it can lead to the collapse of the disc resulting in stenosis.
Spondylosis is a medical condition when the intervertebral disc fails to retain volume and moisture with age. It will decrease the height of the disc. So any minor trauma at this point will cause impingement of nerve root and inflammation.
In this condition, the region where the nerve roots are situated will get narrow. Spinal stenosis will result in lower back pain. It is a severe condition that requires medical attention. Some of the common symptoms will be back pain, weakness in the legs or feet, tingling or numb sensation in the leg or foot, etc.
Dislocation or acute fracture of the spine can cause trauma that can lead to lower back pain. The lower back pain which you will develop after any trauma like vehicle accident needs to get treated immediately.
Osteoarthritis is a medical condition where the facet joints and disc suffers wearing and tearing. The symptoms of osteoarthritis are inflammation, pain, stenosis, and instability. This type of spinal osteoarthritis is mostly seen in people who are aging, and it will progress slowly.
Any severe infection in the spine can lead to lower back pain. The infection needs to get treated immediately, either with medication or surgery.
Symptoms Of Lower Back Pain
If you are suffering from lower back pain, then you will experience the common symptoms that are stated below. It is crucial to identify the symptoms and diagnose the fundamental problem.
Pain Due To Prolonged Sitting
If you are sitting in a particular position for a long time, then you will experience sharp pain. When you start to stretch or walk, then the pain will be reduced.
Pain In The Legs, Feet, And Buttocks
Is your lower back pain is radiating towards your lo legs, feet, and thighs? If yes, then it will also cause a sharp, tingling, stinging, and numb sensation called Sciatica. This pain occurs when the sciatic nerve faces any irritation.
Pain Becomes Worse After Moving Around Or Waking Up
If you have lower back pain, then it will feel worse when you wake up in the morning. Once you start moving around, the pain will reduce. During sleep, the blood circulation will slow down and make your body stiff this, in turn, causes pain.
Pain Gets Better While Changing Position
If you are suffering from any underlying problem that is causing lower back pain, then a certain body position will provide comfort. You will have to identify the source of the pain by looking into the change of symptoms with the shifting areas.
When you experience a dull ache in the lower backside instead of stinging, burning, or sharp pain, then it might indicate a lower back problem. This type of pain will be accompanied by severe or mild muscle spasm, pain in the pelvis, and hips with restricted mobility.
Lifestyle Changes For Preventing Lower Back Pain
Lower back pain can occur anytime, but you will have to find out how frequently does low back pain occurs? Depending on the frequency, the seriousness of the problem can be determined. Several lifestyle habits can help in improving the lower back pain and prevent it from occurring again and again.
These lifestyle changes are elementary yet effective. If you are doing the exact opposite of what is stated below, then it might lead to lower back pain or is probably the cause of your back pain.
Avoid The Wrong Posture
Most of the people who are suffering from lower back pain has a bad body posture. While standing tries to hold your body straight. A bad posture will cause a lot of pain in your muscles and bones. It is essential to know how you should stand, sit, lift, and walk to prevent spine and body pain. When your vertebrae and spine are correctly aligned, then you can say that you have achieved a good posture. You can seek medical help to find the perfect body posture.
Regular exercise can help you to reduce the pain from your lower back and strengthen the muscles. Several activities, like stretching, running, jogging, or swimming, will help you to stay fit. It is essential to know how frequently does low back pain occurs?
If the condition is critical, then you should ask your doctor to recommend some exercise. Do not perform any exercise that can worsen the situation. Exercise will help in reducing muscle tension and ease inflammation. Before you start stretching, make sure you are doing some warm-up activities.
A healthy diet is crucial in our life. If you are suffering from chronic pain, then try to include chia seeds, flax seeds, ginger, turmeric, and salmon in your diet. This food can fight inflammation that is causing the pain. Opt for a balanced diet to strengthen your body and muscles. Provide the body with the boost of the right nutrients and vitamins to nourish the bones and increase the blood flow in the body.
Proper Sleeping Positions
If your sleeping posture is incorrect, then it will strain your lower back and cause pain. If you have any lower back pain, try to sleep in a position that will not strain your muscles. Avoid heading to your bed after having a meal. You should keep a gap of 30 minutes after dinner before you are going to sleep.
About Lifting Heavy Weights
If you are lifting the heavy load without any proper technique, then it will be unsafe and will strain your back. So before you lift any heavyweight, try to prepare the body and make sure that you are not putting the entire weight on the lower back. Before you lift the weight, do perform some body movements. If you are already suffering from lower back pain, then avoid lifting heavyweights.
Avoid Sitting For Long Periods
If you work in an environment where you have to sit for long hours, later try to get up or move from the chair to perform some healthy activities. People who have a habit of sitting for prolonged periods will always have the highest probability of catching back problems. Just take a break and try to walk or do some back stretching to correct the position. It will help in coping up with disk problems.
Non-Surgical Ways For Treating Lower Back Pain
The primary motive of medical treatment is to ease the pain. In most of the cases, the doctor will recommend some medical therapy along with physical therapy or other therapies. Even if the pain is chronic, still there are several non-surgical ways of treating the pain.
First, you will have to analyze how frequently does low back pain occurs and then opt for the ideal therapy.
Narcotic Pain Medications
Narcotic pain medications are popular as painkillers or opioids. It helps in weakening the signal that is sent to the brain by altering the perception of the user. Narcotic medications are prevalent for treating acute pain caused after the operation and intense or short-term pain as it comes with several side effects like an addiction, so it is not used for treating any long-term pain.
To increase the mobility of the tensed muscle, relieve pain, reduce muscle spasm, or tightness, this medication is used on the central nervous system. It is a depressant. One can not use it for managing chronic pain.
Epidural Steroid Injections
Dural sac encircles the spinal cord. In this treatment, the steroid is administered into the outer portion of the dural sac. Fluoroscopy, which is a type of live x-ray, is utilized for directing the needle towards the right area where the pain is residing. It will relieve pain temporarily by reducing the inflammation caused by the nerve root in the compressed state.
One can use the back braces for reducing pain by providing comfort. If you can use the inelastic corset-style brace daily and perform physical therapy, then it will reduce pain and speed up the healing process. It is also used by people who have undergone any back surgery.
If there is any tumor in the bones of the pelvis or spine, then it will cause low back pain. In such cases, if you are ignoring the symptoms, then the result can be fatal. It is vital to understand the range of pain. Tumors can be detected with MRI scanning, cat, nuclear bone scanning, and plain x-ray.
Joints And Bone Injury
Fractures are ubiquitous with people who are suffering from osteoporosis or with people who have taken cortisone medication for a long time. In such conditions, if your spine faces minimal stress, it will easily fracture or collapse.
When To Call The Doctor Regarding Lower Back Pain
Most of the episodes that occurred due to lower back pain will resolve with time without any medical attention. Unfortunately, if the underlying cause is chronic, then you will experience severe symptoms, which will be an indication of an emergency. So here are the signs or situations in which you need to seek help from your doctor.
- If a child is experiencing lower back pain.
- Sleeping issues due to chronic pain.
- Win the pain progressively worsens and gets severe or is not healing with time.
- Loss of bowel control or bladder control.
- One will experience tingling, numbness, and weakness on their feet and legs.
- Nausea or fever.
- Pain occurred due to injury, accident, or trauma.
In this article, we can see a detailed description of lower back pain causes, possible treatments, and ways to avoid it. If the pain is hindering your daily life activities, then you should consult a doctor without any delay.
Try to combine the medication with proper exercise to get better results. It is essential to understand how frequently does low back pain occurs in your case. Sometimes the lower back pain can also be an indication of a severe illness like a tumor.
If you don’t want to develop lower back pain, then you need to follow a healthy diet and a proper exercise regime. People who are already suffering from lower back pain should try out light exercises and avoid resting on the bed for a long time. Apart from that, you should try out several home remedies