Causes of Lower Back Pain – and How to Treat It

Nearly 80% of people have back pain, including lower back pain, at some point or another during their life. Since this is a problem which affects nearly everyone, it is important to know what the causes of lower back pain are. It’s important to understand how you can keep lower back pain at bay by controlling these factors.

Causes of Lower Back Pain

As we age, we lose a lot of our body’s natural muscle tone and elasticity. We also tend to lose bone strength as we age. Loss of fluid results in the discs in your spine becoming less flexible. This results in less protection for the vertebrae. Simply growing older can be a cause of lower back pain.

If the ligaments or muscles in your back experience a sprain, spasm, or strain, the spinal discs can burst or bulge. This leads to increased pressure on your spinal cord nerves. Our back lets us know about this with the neural signals we know as pain. What are the causes of these strains, sprains and spasms? Generally these are injuries which are caused by trying to lift heavy weights or overextending muscles.

Lower back pain can also be caused by diseases like osteoporosis and arthritis. There are also causes including viral infections, joint or disc irritation and spinal abnormalities.

Lifestyle factors can also be contributors to lower back pain. Being out of shape or overweight, having poor posture, experiencing stress and even being pregnant are all examples of this. Lower back pain and pain in the hips often appear together, increasing your discomfort. Scar tissue from previous injuries can also be a cause of lower back pain – this scar tissue buildup can even cause other, more serious injuries.

When to Worry About Lower Back Pain

You should take your lower back pain seriously if it comes along with other symptoms. Watch out for weakness in the muscles, particularly in the legs, loss of bowel or bladder control, fever or coughing. If you experience any of these symptoms along with your lower back pain, see your doctor right away. They may indicate a pinched nerve or other underlying problem. If you are diabetic, lower back pain may indicate neuropathy.

Avoiding Lower Back Pain

By taking good care of your back in daily life, most lower back pain can be avoided. Recurring lower back pain can usually be traced to poor posture. There are ways to change this. Stand straight, remember to lift with your legs rather than with your back, and do exercises to build lower back strength. Make sure to follow proper ergonomic procedures during your workday. This will greatly impact your ability to prevent lower back pain.