Lower Back Pain: Causes and Treatment

Find out the types causes and treatment of lower back pain from a Chartered Physiotherapist. In this article she looks at the typical presentations at her clinic and approaches to treatment an relief.

Firstly, it’s important to point out that lower back pain will affect up to 80% of us at some stage in our lives. This translates to my own experience - in my own Physiotherapy practice, it affects about 80% of the clients that I see every day.

Pain in your lower back can come from many sources but the most common anatomical structures causing lower back pain are your discs, nerves, joints, ligaments and muscles. Each of these structures can be strained, torn or impinged - causing your symptoms of lower back pain. This results in an inflammatory response - causing pain. Putting it simply - the inflammation causes the pain.

As a general guideline, when symptoms have occurred for a known reason AND disappear within 72 hours there isn’t much cause for concern. However, if pain lasts longer than 72 hours and occurs for no apparent reason then it is a good idea to seek medical advice from your doctor or a Chartered Physiotherapist who specializes in lower back pain.

Causes of Lower Back Pain.

In my experience, lower back pain is caused by poor posture - either over time or as a result of a poor lifting technique or through a direct impact. I have found that while each lower back pain client has an individual story, the underlying common factor is always poor posture.

Let’s have a look at the four main causes of lower back pain in some more detail:

A Poor sitting posture: Bad sitting posture puts excess strain on joints, ligaments, muscles, discs and nerves. Over time this results in a breakdown and strain on one or more of these structures, resulting in lower back pain.

Poor lifting technique: This is a dominant cause of lower back pain. If lift incorrectly over time - the breakdown of your tissues will occur. Also, someone who is not used to lifting can strain their back from a once-time poor lifting technique.

Road Accidents: These can cause tears in your ligaments and muscles and cause the pain associated with whiplash injury.

Various medical conditions: Arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, scoliosis and disc degeneration - these conditions can all be associated with lower back pain. Though manual therapy and exercises may not cure your medical condition, the symptoms of your condition can be treated effectively with manual therapy and related exercises - and vastly improve your quality of life.

Treatment of Lower Back Pain.

There are many approaches to treating lower back pain but the best approach can be summarized as follows: Eliminate the root cause and repair the damaged structure.

If your cause was through poor posture - then you must learn good posture and practice it consistently.

If the cause was poor lifting technique - then stop lifting! Allow healing and correct your lifting technique before doing any further lifting.

If the cause was a road traffic accident then the cause is, of course, removed once the accident is over.

Following on - repairing your damaged structures typically involves rest over time and the professional assistance of a Chartered Physiotherapist or similar healthcare professional. Rest and time will ease your pain, but your structure needs to heal in a good position - otherwise your back pain is likely to reoccur.

The most effective treatments for lower back pain (in my experience) are:

Mobilization of the affected area with a healthcare professional.

A good Rest/Activity balance (essential at first).

Posture Correction.

Stretching - gently and before the point of pain.

Strengthening exercises (gentle at first).

It is essential that following your successful treatment - you continue good postural techniques and strength exercises to prevent further episodes of lower back pain.

Always remember - when it comes to Lower Back Pain - prevention is better than cure!!