Acute Lower Back Pain - Useful Information

There are many underlying reasons for lower back pain; however, no specific cause is found and the pain and symptom stops even without treatment. Thus, to give you an idea about the reason why you have the pain, this article discusses the common reasons for it.

Many people complain about acute lower back pain. Around 80% of the US population is said to be affected by it and around 50% suffer from more than one episode of this condition. However, as opposed to what many people believe it is, acute lower back pain is not a disease but rather a symptom that may arise from different medical conditions. As a matter of fact, 7 out of 10 people with this condition had gone through medical evaluations but no specific cause was identified. Nonetheless, incidences or reasons as to why this pain attacks exist. Continue reading this article to get to know them.

Some of the reasons why a person experiences acute lower back pain are injuries or diseases in bones, muscles, and spinal nerves. The pain caused by organ abnormalities within the pelvis, abdomen, or chest may also be experienced in the back. Different intra-abdominal disorders such as kidney diseases, appendicitis, aneurysm, pelvic infections, ovarian disorders, bladder infections, and others can cause lower back pain. Even normal pregnancy can cause acute lower back pain in many ways, such as stretching pelvis ligaments, straining the lower back, and irritating nerves. All these will be considered by your doctor as he evaluates your pain.

Another probable reason for acute lower back pain is nerve impingement, which is said to be caused by the herniation of the disc located between the lower back bones. One example of nerve root impingement is sciatica, which causes acute lower back pain that affects a specific area in the back with associated numbness in the leg area supplied by the affected nerve. You may also experience acute lower back pain due to spondylosis that occurs when the intervertebral discs lose its volume and moisture with age, thereby decreasing the height of the disc. Even minor physical trauma in similar circumstances may also cause nerve impingement and inflammation, thereby producing classic sciatica without rupturing the disc.

Spinal stenosis, a problem with the spine, may also be signaled by some lower back pain symptoms, including pain that radiates down to lower part of the body, felt more often then a person is standing for a long period of time. A medical emergency referred to as cauda equine syndrome can also trigger acute lower back pain to attack, especially when the spinal cord is compressed directly. Myofascial pain is another condition that can trigger back pain as well as other symptoms such as feeling of tenderness in some areas, difficulty to move certain muscle groups, and pain along the peripheral nerves.

Acute lower back pain may also be triggered by other medical conditions such as tumors, fibromyalgia, osteomyelitis, and inflammation of the nerves. Tumors are said to be the number one culprit to acute lower back pain. Fibromyalgia s signaled by symptoms such as muscle aches, lower back pain, fatigue, generalized stiffness, and tenderness and pain in the body. Symptoms of osteomyelitis include spine pain and tenderness, while nerve inflammation symptoms include upper and lower back pain and shingles in the spine.

Those given in this article are just a few of the factors or reasons you have acute lower back pain. However, it is still best to seek medical attention when any of the above symptoms manifest in your body.