Back pain is no fun. The pain just never quits and if you move the wrong way, boy do you pay for it. Prolonged standing and prolonged sitting make it worse and that can impact your job, your studies, and even sports. Imagine standing for long periods of time in the outfield with lower back pain, or crouched behind home plate.
Lower back pain is very common and it affects millions of people. You are not alone. But that doesn’t help much when you have to call in sick to work because you just know you won’t make it through the day. The good news is if you can identify the cause of your lower back pain you may be able to relieve it. Here are some causes of lower back pain.
What Causes Lower Back Pain?
Lower back pain can be caused by many things. The most obvious would be an accident that affected your back. Another fairly obvious cause is overuse. People who constantly bend and lift, whether it is dealing with material in a warehouse, emptying garbage cans or working as a nurse, your lower back takes all of the pressure. Aside from the added weight you place on your back doing your daily job, your lower back carries the weight of your whole upper body.
So what else can cause lower back pain? A lot of what can cause lower back pain is related to age and lifestyle. The more active our lifestyle, especially if it involves certain sports, the more wear and tear you place on the structures that keep your spine in its proper position. Your ligaments and cartilage are only meant to last for so long.
Dealing with Pain In Your Back
If you have been diagnosed with osteoporosis in in Highland Village, Texas, you may very well have been at an Epic Healthcare facility. To find a facility near you, call (972) 355-0083. Osteoporosis puts you at a greater risk for lower back pain. It causes your bones to become brittle. This can cause vertebral fractures which can lead to lower back pain. Osteoarthritis can also cause lower back pain because it narrows the space around the spinal cord and can then start pressing on a nerve.
You can also tear a spinal disk disc, which can easily cause lower back pain until it is healed. A tear in the outer layer of the disk can produce anything from no symptoms to profound pain and disability, depending on the severity of the tear and the location on the spine. A herniated disk is the result a bending, lifting, pulling or a twisting motion that suddenly brings you pain. Sometimes a herniated disk bulges to the point that it presses against a nerve. A herniated disk in the lower back, in addition to causing lower back pain, can also cause pain through your buttocks and down your leg. This is known as sciatica and can be a very debilitating condition.
Will the Lower Back Pain Ever Go Away?
If you want to relive your lower back pain you have to get the cause determined first. Once the cause is established a treatment protocol can be developed to get rid of that pain forever. You can take steps to mitigate the pain or prevent more in the future.
First off is exercise. No, you don’t have to run marathons. You should do daily exercises to strengthen your abdominal muscles and your back muscles. You need them to stay strong because they help keep the spine aligned properly.
Be sure to practice proper lifting techniques. You should never lift from your waist, but should always lift with your legs. Your thigh muscles are very strong and help to relieve the pressure you put on your lower back when you bend over and lift from the waist.
Your Weight Can Influence Your Pain
Keep your weight down. Yes, it’s easier said than done, but it does make a huge difference to your lower back and the strain you put on your spine. Remember your lower back bears all of the weight of your upper body. If your upper body is over an ideal weight it puts more strain and stress on your vertebrae every time you move. That, in turn, wears the discs out faster, which leads to bigger problems at an earlier age than you ever imagined.
Smoke and nicotine cause your spine to age faster than normal according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. So quit smoking, enough said.
Lastly, maintain a proper posture. Standing up straight and sitting up straight take an enormous amount of strain off of your spine. When your spine isn’t aligned, as it isn’t when you aren’t sitting up straight, the vertebrae arrange themselves to accommodate your posture, but in doing so put pressure on areas that aren’t intended to have pressure.