Back pain is common and affects most people at some point in their life.
Back pain can be triggered by everyday activities at home and at work, or it can develop gradually over time.
Back pain causes include:
• Bending awkwardly
• Lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling incorrectly or loads that are too heavy
• Slouching in chairs
• Standing or bending down for long periods
• Twisting / over-stretching
• Driving for long periods without taking a break
• Overuse of the muscles, usually due to sport or repetitive movements (e.g. from gardening or unusual activity)
• Wear and Tear (osteoarthritis)
• Trauma and sports injuries
• No mechanism- some people just wake up one morning with back pain and have no idea what has caused it.
Back pain can be made worse by:
• Other illnesses or disease
• Being overweight
• Poor core stability and posture
• Smoking
• Long term use of medication that is known to weaken bones, such as corticosteroids
• Low mood, depression and anxiety
Common causes of lower back pain – Click the links below for more information
- Lower Back Muscular Strain
- Spinal stenosis
- Lumbar Spine Facet Joint Dysfunction and Pain
- Degenerative disc disease
- Prolapsed / Herniated intervertebral disc (Slipped Discs)
- Sciatica
- Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction and Pain
- Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP)
- Osteoarthritis of the Spine (Spondylosis)
The exact underlying cause of lower back pain is often complex and multifaceted. There are lots of different structures in close proximity that are all capable of producing pain, including bones, ligaments, tendons, disks, muscle and nerves. It may be only one of these structures that is causing your pain, however, most chronic (long standing) lower back pain cases are most likely involve a mixture of different structures.
Here at the Blackberry Clinic our Musculoskeletal Doctors, Physiotherapists, Osteopaths, and Chiropractors are all very highly trained and will use skilled assessment procedures to produce an accurate clinical diagnosis of the underlying cause of your lower back pain. They will decided if you need further investigations, such as X-ray or MRI scan and decide of the most appropriate treatment plan for your specific case. The Blackberry Clinic prides itself on having many types of practitioners under one roof, who will all work together with the common aim of reducing your pain as quickly as possible and preventing re-occurrence.
Other Rarer Causes of Lower Back Pain are:
- Ankylosing spondylitis- A chronic inflammatory disease. There is no known cure, although treatments and medications are available to reduce symptoms and pain. See National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society for further details. www.nass.co.uk
- Osteoporotic or fragility fracture- Osteoporosis is caused by low bone density. This is more common in women after the menopause or people who have used high dose steroids for long periods. Diseases such as hypothyroidism can put you more at risk. See National Osteoporosis Society for more details. www.nos.org.uk
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Spondoylolisthesis
