Causes Of Low Back Pain
Low Back Pain |
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 Low back pain is the most common problem of men and women who are active in the work place.
So great tips on how to prevent it is a welcome piece of information. Low back pain has several causes. It can be caused by a strain or sprain of your low back muscles and ligaments. It can be caused by a postural situation like a sway back problem know as exaggerated lumbar lordosis, the convexity of the curve is towards the front part of the lumbar spine. |
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Developmental causes known as scoliosis can cause low back pain For people that are heavy lifters, low back pain can be caused by strain/sprain of the muscles and ligaments of the low back or it can be due to a herniated disc or discs. |
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| For people above forty years old, degenerative changes of the spine (osteoarthritis) are common causes of back pain. Inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis which can affect all ages, can also cause low-back pain., associated with pain in multiple joints of the body.
Tumors , benign or malignant or metatastatic neoplasm that affect the vertebral bodies can also cause low back pain.There are more causes of low back pain which are beyond the scope of this article. My discussion about the seven great tips on how to prevent low back pain is directed to Some structural causes of low back pain that I mentioned above can be prevented, but those that that has already produced structural changes in the vertebra and vertebral discs or muscles along the spinal column cannot usually be prevented. Herniated Discs or ruptured discs can sometimes be prevented by proper lifting habits, unless these are cdaused by accidents. An accident is defined as a situation that cannot be foresee, and if foreseen, it cannot be prevented. So I will confine my discussion to the prevention of low back pain due to common non-structural causes like, sprains, strains, sway-back and I will touch on prevention of herniated discs. Here are the 7 great tips on how to prevent common causes of low back pain.. 1.Correct your sway back (lordosis) situation. You can do this by pelvic tilts exercises and strengthening the abdominal muscles. Lie down on the firm bed with hips and knees bent, both feet on bed. Tilt your pelvis forwards so that your low back is flat on bed, hold this for 5 seconds then relax for 5 seconds and repeat 25 times. Then tilt your pelvis, then try to touch the top of your knees with both hands, hold for 5 seconds, relax, rest for r5 seconds and repeat for 25 times. Do these twice a day. 2. Correct weak abdominal muscles by exercises. Women who just gave birth to babies have weak abdominals, so they need the abdominal strengthening exercises. Shortly after delivery. 3. Avoid or correct overweight problems that promote protruding abdomen and weak abdominal muscles. 4.Proper Lifting Habits. Be sure that when you lift something heavy from the floor, you have to tilt your pelvis, tighten the abdominal muscles, keep the low back straight, bend your knees before lifting the weight. This practice of proper lifting habits can save you from herniated or ruptured discs. 5.Be sure to tilt your pelvis, tighten the abdominal muscles when you are standing or bending like in brushing your teeth. 6. Before pulling or pushing heavy stuff, you have to tilt your pelvis, tighten your abdominal muscles before you push or pull This can also save you from herniating or rupturing your discs in your low back.. . 7. General body conditioning and physical fitness and avoidance or correction of overweight problem are important in the prevention of common causes of low back pain. |
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Low Back Pain During Pregnancy
What kinds of low back pain are common in pregnancy?
Experts describe two common patterns of low back pain in pregnancy: Lumbar pain occurs in the area of the lumbar vertebrae in your lower back and posterior pelvic pain is felt in the back of your pelvis. Some women have symptoms of both types of low back pain.
Lumbar pain is like the low back pain you may have experienced before you were pregnant. You feel it over and around your spine approximately at the level of, or a little above, your waist. You might also have pain that radiates to your legs. Sitting or standing for long periods of time and lifting usually make it worse, and it tends to be more intense at the end of the day.
Even more pregnant women have posterior pelvic pain, which is felt lower on your body than lumbar pain. You may feel it deep inside the buttocks, on one or both sides or in the back of your thighs. It may be triggered by activities such as walking, climbing stairs, getting in and out of a tub or a low chair, rolling over in bed, or twisting and lifting.
Positions in which your hips are bent — such as sitting in a chair and leaning forward while working at a desk — may make posterior pelvic pain worse. Women with posterior pelvic pain are also more likely to have pain over their pubic bone.
Could it be sciatica?
| When low back pain radiates into the buttocks and thighs, it’s often confused with sciatica — a condition that’s actually relatively uncommon.
True sciatica, which can be caused by a herniated or bulging disk in the lower part of the spine, affects only about 1 percent of pregnant women. If you have sciatica, your leg pain will usually be more severe than your back pain. You’re likely to feel it below the knee as well, and it may even radiate to your foot and toes. And you’ll probably feel a tingling, pins-and-needles sensation in your legs or possibly some numbness. |
With severe sciatica, you may have numbness in your groin or genital area as well. You may even find that it’s hard to urinate or that you have the opposite problem of incontinence (difficulty holding your urine or bowel movements).
If you think you have sciatica, be sure to see your practitioner. Call her immediately if you feel a loss of sensation or weakness in one or both legs or a loss of sensation in your groin, bladder, or anus (which may make it hard to pee or have a bowel movement, or — alternatively — cause incontinence).
Who’s most likely to have low back pain during pregnancy?
Not surprisingly, you’re most likely to have low back pain if you’ve had this kind of pain before, either before you got pregnant or during a previous pregnancy. You’re also at higher risk if you’ve lead a very sedentary lifestyle and have poor flexibility and weak back and abdominal muscles.
Carrying twins (or more) increases your odds of having an aching back. Obesity may be a risk factor for developing low back pain during pregnancy, but study results are conflicting.
What can I do to avoid back pain?
• Start an exercise program to stretch and strengthen muscles that support the back and legs, including your abdominal muscles. Be careful to stretch gently because stretching too quickly or too much can put further strain on your joints, which have been made looser by pregnancy. Swimming is a great exercise option for pregnant women because it strengthens your abdominal and lower back muscles, and the buoyancy of the water takes the strain off your joints and ligaments. Pelvic tilts can also help (see below).
• Stand up straight. This gets harder to do as your body changes, but try to keep your bottom tucked in and your shoulders parallel with your ears. Pregnant women tend to slump their shoulders and arch their backs as their bellies grow, which puts more strain on the spine.
• If you sit all day, be sure to sit up straight. Supporting your feet with a footstool can help prevent lumbar pain, as can using a small pillow called a lumbar roll behind your lower back. Take frequent breaks from sitting. Get up and walk around at least every hour or so.
• It’s equally important to avoid standing for too long. If you need to stand all day, try to take a midday break and rest lying on your side while supporting your upper leg and abdomen with pillows.
• Wear comfortable shoes and avoid high heels. As your belly grows and your balance shifts, high heels will throw your posture even more out of whack and increase your chances of stumbling and falling.
• Always bend from your knees and lift things from a crouching position to minimize the stress on your back. This isn’t the time to risk throwing your back out, so let someone else lift heavy objects. Don’t reach for high objects, either, and try not to twist your back.
• Divide up the weight of items you have to carry. A shopping bag in each hand with half the weight is much better than the uneven stress on your back of carrying one heavier bag.
• Take care when getting out of bed: Bend your legs at your knees and hips when you roll to the side, and use your arms to push yourself up as you dangle your lower legs over the side of the bed.
• To get a good night’s rest, try sleeping on your side with one or both knees bent and a pillow between your legs. As your pregnancy advances, use another pillow or wedge to support your abdomen.
• Listen to your body. If you find that a particular activity or exercise makes your back hurt, then avoid doing it!In addition to following the suggestions above, women suffering from low back pain should:
• Take it easy. Don’t let yourself get too fatigued. (But don’t take to your bed for long periods, either, since bed rest is generally not helpful in the long run for low back pain and may even make you feel worse.) Avoid activities like vacuuming and mopping that require you to bend and twist at the same time. If there’s no one else to do these chores, move your whole body rather than twisting or reaching to get to out-of-the-way spots.
• Learn relaxation techniques. They may help you cope with the discomfort and may be especially useful at bedtime if your back pain is just one more thing that makes it hard to get to sleep.
• Try heat or cold. Although there’s no hard evidence that it helps, some women find that soaking in a warm tub or putting a hot water bottle on the affected area provides at least temporary relief. There’s even less evidence regarding the use of cold packs, but it’s easy to do and worth a try if heat doesn’t work for you.
• Try massage. If do-it-yourself tactics don’t work, prenatal massage by a trained therapist may provide some relief, especially when combined with an exercise program focused on stretching.
There’s some research suggesting that acupressure (massage of specific acupuncture sites) may be more helpful than other types of massage and that acupuncture may provide some relief as well, but these studies weren’t done on pregnant women.
In addition, if you have posterior pelvic pain, try to limit activities like stair climbing that may make the pain worse. And avoid any exercise that requires extreme movements of your hips or spine.
If you need to sit for long periods, try to use an adjustable chair and tip the front slightly downward. Ask your caregiver about using a “sacral belt.” For some women, this device seems to help lessen the pain when walking, although for others it doesn’t help at all and for a few it may even increase pain.
What kind of exercise can help?
One study showed that prenatal aquatics classes (water aerobics) helped alleviate back pain. Avoid high-impact activities, overstretching, and, of course, anything that hurts.
For lumbar pain, try doing pelvic tilts, which can ease back pain by stretching your muscles and, over time, strengthening them as well. Here’s how:
• Get down on your hands and knees, arms shoulder-width apart and knees hip-width apart, keeping your arms straight.
• Tighten your abdominal muscles, tuck your buttocks under, and round your back, breathing in.
• Relax your back into a neutral position and breathe out.
• Repeat at your own pace.
When should I call my midwife or doctor?
Let your caregiver know if you’re suffering from back pain. Call her immediately if:
• Your back pain is severe; you notice that you’ve lost feeling in your legs, buttocks, groin, genital area, bladder, or anus; or you suddenly feel uncoordinated or weak. She’ll refer you to a specialist if there’s any sign of a neurological problem or any underlying condition. She may also prescribe painkillers.
• You have low back pain in the late second or third trimester. This can be a sign of preterm labor, particularly if you haven’t had back pain before that.
• You have pain in your lower back or in your side just under your ribs, on one or both sides. This can be a sign of a kidney infection, especially if you have a fever, nausea, or blood in your urine.