Acute Lower Back Pain - Your Basic Guidelines

Acute lower back pain is one of the most common complaints of people, with 8 out of 10 Americans experiencing it and 4 out of these 8 experienced it more than once in their lifetime. According to experts, acute lower back pain is a symptom and not a disease. It occurs because some reasons or incidences happened thereby triggering the pain to attack. The studies further showed that no specific cause was identified in around 70% of the people known to suffer from lower back pain. Go on reading as you discover the different things that trigger the pain to attack.

Acute lower back pain may be triggered by different factors such as bone, spinal nerves, and muscle injuries and diseases. It may also characterize some organ problems within the abdomen, pelvis, or chest, as well as intra-abdominal disorders like appendicitis, kidney diseases, pelvic infections, aneurysm, bladder infections, ovarian disorders, and a lot more. Acute lower back pain may also be caused by normal pregnancy due to the strain placed on the lower back, stretching of pelvis ligaments, and nerve irritation. All these things will be considered and ruled out during the evaluation of 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 may also be characterized by lower back pain symptoms, with pain running down to both lower extremities especially when walking or standing for a long time. Another reason for acute lower back pain is a medical emergency called cauda equine syndrome. This condition occurs when there is a direct compression of the spinal cord. Myofascial pain is also associated with back pain symptoms including tenderness in localized areas, immobility of the muscle groups involved, as well as a type of pain restricted to the peripheral nerves.

Other reasons for acute lower back pain include fibromyalgia, osteomyelitis, nerve inflammation, and tumors. Fibromyalgia causes tenderness and pain throughout the body, fatigue, generalized stiffness, muscle aches, and lower back pain. Osteomyelitis is the infection of the spinal bones, which causes pain and stiffness in the spine. Tumors, especially cancerous tumors are also considered a source of acute lower back pain. Inflammation of spinal nerves occurs when the spinal nerves are infected with the virus called herpes zoster. This virus causes shingles in the spine and can affect the lower back area thereby causing lower back pain and the thoracic area thereby causing upper back pain.

There you go - some reasons why you experience acute lower back pain. To avoid wrong assumptions, make sure to consult with your doctor and rule out possible reasons for this pain.