If you are experiencing lower back pain, it can be a sign of number of different conditions. Only your primary care physician can diagnose you with any of these conditions, but it helps to have an education on the subject before you go and see your doctor. Whether the pain is the result of something relatively minor or indicative or a much larger issue, it is important to understand what could be happening within your body.

Strain

Lower back pain is often a sign of strain on the muscles in that area. Either through improper lifting or repetitive stress almost everyone will experience lower back strain at some point in their lives.

The pain that comes with strain is due to tiny tears in muscle tissue. If your primary care physician confirms that you have strained your back, there are a number of simple solutions to the situation including:

– Icing your back

– Stretching

– Taking aspirin

Contrary to popular belief, bed rest is not an adequate treatment for lower back strain. In many cases, the lack of physical activity cans exacerbate the situation by causing the muscles to atrophy or stiffen.

While lower back strain is almost certainly a fact of life, you can avoid unnecessary strain by maintaining muscle tone in your abdomen and lower back. A strong core and back provides good posture and strengthens your back, preventing chronic problems down the road.

Herniated Discs

A herniated disc occurs when the intervertabral discs that provide a cushion between the bone sections of your spine rupture. If left untreated, the inner gel of the disc can leak out into the spinal canal and touch the spinal cord and nerve roots, causing inflammation and pain.

There are a number of conservative treatment options for herniated discs including pain-killing medication, stretching exercises, and steroid injections. If these don’t alleviate the problem, there are many reputable surgical centers that offer endoscopic herniated disc surgery that allows patients to feel better and recover quickly.

Spinal Stenosis

Spinal stenosis refers to a natural narrowing of the spinal canal that occurs as the body ages. This can lead to pain if you have pre-existing, undiscovered conditions such as bulging discs. Protrusions into your spinal canal will only become more obvious as the amount of space within your spinal canal shrinks. When the bone around your spinal cord constricts, it may come into contact with – or apply pressure to – your spinal cord, causing pain. If you experience pain from the spinal stenosis process, your physician should recommend a conservative regimen to alleviate the symptoms. If these methods don’t appear to be working, outpatient surgery centers throughout the nation offer a number of minimally invasive endoscopic surgeries to help alleviate the pain caused by stenosis.

Factors that May Cause These Conditions

Though aging is typically the leading cause of these conditions and is unavoidable, there are a number of pre-existing factors that increase your risk for these conditions. A genetic predisposition toward degenerative spinal conditions may factor into your current condition, as well. However, there are a number of avoidable causes of back conditions including repetitive strain, alcohol and tobacco use, lack of exercise, poor posture, and a sedentary lifestyle.

Conclusion

This list is by no means comprehensive. There are a number of conditions that are not listed. Oftentimes, back pain is caused by a combination of several circumstances. Only your primary care physician can decide whether or not you have any of the ailments listed and formulate a plan accordingly. However, if you know that you have these conditions, have been trying the conservative methods for several months and still aren’t seeing results, there are a number of minimally invasive surgeries that may help.

Taylor Thomas is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Mr. Thomas is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to back pain.

Taylor Thomas is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Mr. Thomas is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to back pain. http://www.laserspinewellness.com/

Author Bio: Taylor Thomas is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Mr. Thomas is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to back pain.

Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: Back Pain