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Low
Back Back
Pain
Low back pain can be either an acute or chronic disabling condition.
For many, it may be an ongoing condition that flares up occasionally
for a few days or weeks, then becomes more manageable again.
It will affect most adults at some stage in their life and
accounts for more sick leave taken than any other single
condition.
An acute lower back injury may be caused by a traumatic event,
like a car accident or a fall. It occurs suddenly and its victims
will usually be able to pinpoint exactly when it happened.
In acute cases, the structures damaged will more than likely
be soft tissue like muscles, ligaments and tendons. With a
serious accident, vertebral fractures in the lumbar spine may
also occur. At the lowest end of the spine, some patients may
have tailbone pain (also called coccyx pain or coccydynia).
Chronic lower back pain usually has a more insidious onset,
occurring over a long period of time. Physical causes may include
osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, degeneration of the discs
between the vertebrae, or a spinal disc herniation, a vertebral
fracture (such as from osteoporosis), or rarely, a tumor (including
cancer) or infection. The cause may also be psychological or
emotional, and can be diagnosed as TMS or tension myositis
syndrome.
Causes
Possible causes of low back pain:
Mechanical:
• Apophyseal osteoarthritis
• Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis
• Degenerative Discs
• Scheuermann's kyphosis
• Spinal disc herniation
• Spinal stenosis
• Spondylolisthesis and other congenital abnormalities
• Fractures
• Non-specific muscular or ligamentous strains or sprains
• Leg Length Difference
• Restricted hip motion
• Misaligned pelvis
Inflammatory:
• Seronegative spondylarthritides (e.g. ankylosing spondylitis)
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Infection
Neoplastic:
• Bone tumors (primary or metastatic)
• Intradural Spinal tumors
Metabolic:
• Osteoporotic fractures
• Osteomalacia
• Ochronosis
• Chondrocalcinosis
• Paget's disease
Referred pain:
• Pelvic/abdominal disease
• Posture
• Tension myositis syndrome
• Depression
Diagnosis
Diagnosing the underlying cause of low back pain is usually
done by a medical doctor or by a chiropractor. Often, getting
a diagnosis of the underlying cause of low back pain and/or
related symptoms, such as sciatica, is quite complex. A complete
diagnosis is usually made through a combination of a patient's
medical history, physical examination, and, when necessary,
diagnostic testing, such as an MRI scan or x-ray.
Treatments
The course of treatment for low back pain will usually be dictated
by the diagnosis of the underlying cause of the pain. For the
vast majority of patients, low back pain can be treated with
non-surgical care.
Don’t
live life in pain!
Salama
Chiropractic Center
Wendover Chiropractic Clinic Location
Suite
A, 3410 West
Wendover Avenue• Greensboro, North Carolina 27407
© 2006 All Rights Reserved.
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