The lower back or the lumbar spine consists of the bones labelled from L1 to L5. In this area, many bones, joints, nerves and ligaments are interconnected to provide crucial support and strength. However, the very complex nature of this area leaves it susceptible to injury and damage. This makes it one of the most common reasons for a doctor’s appointment in the world.
The lower back is responsible for providing support for daily activities. It allows you to twist and bend your back, the muscles in this area are also responsible for walking as they rotate your hips. The lumbar region has a high density of nerves. Thus it is not always possible for the brain to accurately judge what the cause of the pain is.
Symptoms
Lower back pain is categorized in three types. Namely acute pain, subacute low back pain and Chronic back pain.
- Acute Pain: When there is tissue damage in the lower back, this type of pain usually occurs. It comes of suddenly and lasts until the tissue is repaired or healed. It can take up to a few days to a week to heal.
- Subacute Low Back pain: This type of pain occurs when there is muscle strain or joint pain. It is more sever in nature. It can last from 6 weeks to 3 months.
- Chronic Back Pain: This is the most severe type of back pain. It lasts over 3 months. A medical checkup is highly recommend in this case.
Causes of Lower Back Pain
There are many reasons for back pain to occur as the grind of the day can play a huge factor in damaging your spine. We will be going over some common reasons of why you might be experiencing back pain. That being said the most common reason for lower back pain is a torn muscle or ligament (tissue that connects a bone to another bone).
- Sprain: When either the muscles or the ligaments are stretched beyond their capabilities a sprain occurs. This can happen while doing an exercise such as lifting an object, sudden movement or bad posture.
- Herniated Disc: The discs in the spine hold a jelly like liquid. The liquid can sometimes leak and irritate other regions such as nerve root. This is called a herniated disc. This can lead to problems like as inflammation, nerve root pain etc.
- Deformity: Deformities (like scoliosis) may cause lower back pain if it leads to the breakdown of discs, joints, stenosis and such.
- Trauma: Caused by physical activities such as falling or a road accident.
Pain Management & Treatment
Here, we will talk about some methods to treat, prevent, and manage back pain at home.
- Add Backrack to Your Daily Lifestyle: Backrack is a natural spinal decompression therapy designed to treat most back pains at home. It works on the whole spinal column and treat the cause of pain by decompressing the spine using the unique Backrack technology.
- Heat/Ice Therapy: Hot water will increase blood flow and allow for more nutrients and oxygen to reach the affected area. If there is inflammation then Ice packs can be a big help. Please do not bring the heat or ice to direct contact to the skin to avoid tissue damage by temperature.
- Massage: Massage in the lower part of your body can help increase blood flow, give relief to muscles which are tensed. It can greatly help in healing your back.
- Exercise: Light exercise can go a long way in improving the health of your spine. Your back will be more in tuned to your movements, which will decrease the risk of tearing a ligament or muscle drastically.
