Low Back Pain
by Lindy Royer, P.T.
For many people, low back pain, also known as lower back pain, seems like a natural part of life, a normal side affect of getting old or being active. It's estimated that 4 out of 5 adults in the US suffer from back pain at some point in their lives.
But just because you sit in an office chair all day, or find yourself constantly slinging children and groceries around, doesn't mean you should naturally expect to suffer from back pain.
In this article, we'll explore the causes of lower back pain, highlighting some common remedies and solutions such as muscle relaxants and surgery, include natural remedies such as acupuncture, and consider the pros and cons of each. Finally, we'll introduce you to a simple and natural system of exercises and education that we have found can restore your back to health once and for all.
What Causes Low Back Pain?
There are many causes of low back pain, but the bottom line is that pain in the lower back is merely a symptom, with a cause that is sometimes as invisible as the pain is real.
Lower back pain can take many forms. Most episodes of low back pain are relatively uneventful, and go away within a few days.
Unfortunately though, that's just how it all starts.
Eventually, episodes of back pain return, often becoming more frequent and lasting longer each time. For some, pain is a constant daily presence, a miserable reminder of the health they have lost.
If your lower back pain is diagnosed, that diagnosis describes what damage is seen on an X-ray or MRI, or what your health practitioner thinks may be causing your pain. The diagnosis and study of the damage in your spine is known as your pathology.
Examples of common spine pathologies are: herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, Myofascial pain, Stenosis or Spondylolisthesis.
You can also have back pain as a result of a medical condition. Examples of medical conditions that can cause back pain are: infections, kidney disease, aneurysms and disorders of the pelvis.
There are also thousands of cases of severe back pain where patients are told, "There's nothing wrong with your back, your tests are normal". But there has to be a cause, because the pain you feel is just as real as the ground you walk on. Bear in mind that just because damage doesn't show up on X-ray or MRI, it doesn't mean that your pain is not real.
Whether or not your diagnosis indicates abnormal pathology of the spine, the real cause of your lower back pain remains a mystery. A diagnosis fails to explain what caused the disorder in the first place. In most cases, unless you have had a traumatic event such as a car accident or fall, most back pathologies are caused by long-term overuse of the spine due to muscle and joint imbalances.
What the heck does that mean? Well, think of your body like a car. If you drove around with an under inflated or flat tire, your car would eventually develop alignment issues, and your back is no different. Similarly, if you carry a heavy purse every day on your right shoulder, your back can get out of alignment.
And once your spine gets out of balance, you place undue stress on areas in your back such as discs, ligaments, muscles and joints.
Here's an Example of a Real World Cause of Low Back Pain...
Let's say when you were younger you sprained an ankle. You limped around for a while, the swelling went down, the pain went away and within a month or so, you forgot that it had ever happened.
But unknown to you, you took from that experience a few small changes to your body. In that month of limping around on your sore ankle, you learned how to walk to protect it - with a limp. You became so used to walking that way that even when you didn't need to limp anymore, your walking pattern still did not completely return to it's previous balance.
Suddenly, after twenty years of walking that way, you have severe back pain and you can't understand why.
This same scenario happens time and time again, after injuries, surgeries, or even when you constantly sit or stand incorrectly. The human body is amazingly adaptable, but unfortunately, the adaptations you make throughout your life ultimately occur at the expense of your spine.
This section asked, "What Causes Lower Back Pain?" The fact of the matter is that herniated discs and other diagnoses don't cause back pain - they are simply the result of imbalances in the spine, joints, and muscles cause back pain.
Common Remedies and Solutions
Commonly, low back pain is treated initially with rest and ice. Once the acute symptoms of strain have subsided, usually in 24 - 72 hours, gentle movement can be restored. If you visit your doctor during this phase, you will most likely be prescribed NSAIDs, rest and possibly muscle relaxants.
If symptoms do not subside quickly, your doctor may also recommend Physical Therapy to help you to regain range of motion and strength.
