Hitting New Lows with Lower Back Pain

Determining the exact cause of lower back pain can be difficult, but not impossible.  There are many sources of pain in the back, and understanding the structure of the spine, muscle and ligament system is the first step.  The next step, of course, is determining a course of therapy that will relieve the pain.  It can take many weeks to improve the back condition, but it’s worth the effort.  As any knows who has had back pain, it can be a debilitating problem if left unchecked. 

Lower back pain can be the result of one problem or many problems.  The spine is divided into 3 main sections.

* Cervical curve at the neck
* Thoracic curve in the upper and middle back
* Lumbosacral curve in the lower back

The lower back lumbosacral curve is composed of five vertebrae, and these five vertebrae do a lot of the heavy spine work.  These vertebrae, or bones, carry the most weight and are expected to support many activities such as lifting.  That’s why you always hear people admonishing to lift with your legs and not your back. 

For the spine to work properly, the muscles in the back must be strong and healthy.  The entire back has a series of muscles attached, but the erector spinae muscles run along the lower back vertebrae.  These muscles are often the source of lower back pain and lower back muscle spasms.  Other muscles connect vertebrae and connect the front of the body to the back.  The intricate design of the body never ceases to be amazing.

Low back pain can result from many different problems related to the spinal bones and muscles.  The pain can originate in just the vertebrae or just the muscles, but it can also result from a combination of problems in both.  This gives an idea of how difficult it can be to diagnosis the exact source of the pain.  On the other hand, the lower back is part of a system of bone, muscle and ligaments.  So pain therapies frequently address the back as a whole in order to develop a strong back resistant to deterioration.

Lower back pain is most cases is the result of muscle or ligament injury or strain.  You often hear people claim their lower back hurts because they “twisted wrong” or lifted something they shouldn’t have lifted.  Many cases of lower back pain are due to a combination of both muscle or ligament problems, and a disc problem.  It’s like the chicken and egg question.  Sometimes the muscles are strained because of compensating for disc problems.   Some doctors believe the entire spine can get out of balance due to accommodating back problems.  If you’ve ever had a painful leg and ended up with a more painful hip from walking incorrectly, you’ll understand how this happens.

The cause of lower back pain include muscle strain, herniated discs, ligament tears or sprains, inflammation of the spinal joints and slipping vertebrae to name a few.

Lower Right Back Pain Treatment May Indicate Specific Problems

Lower back pain can affect anyone at any time, although the age that is most affected in from 17 through 45, when people are in their most productive years. Lower back pain may come on either side of the back. Your doctor can recommend a lower left or lower right back pain treatment, depending on where the back pain is located. There are many different symptoms for your lower right back pain. Some are similar to if you have pain in other areas of the back. However, some are completely different.

When you first see your doctor, he\'ll ask you for your medical history and do a complete evaluation. He won\'t start you on an immediate lower right back pain treatment until he is sure of what is causing the pain. Many times patients get frustrated with the treatment and recommendations they receive from their doctor because they are not getting an immediate fix. Doctors have to be sure of what they are prescribing or recommending for their patients, not only to avoid malpractice lawsuits but also to avoid further damaging the patient\'s condition with a wrong diagnosis. If you are given lower right back pain treatment when you have a much more serious problem, the treatment could do you more harm than good.

The pain or numbness you feel may be in the lumbar spine region. The pain may also be a shooting pain from the sciatic nerve straight to the buttocks or back of the thigh. Lower right back pain may also be an excruciating pain or simply a dull pain never-ending pain. These may be signs of disc herniations. With lower right back pain, the pain may get worse during the day or after strenuous activities and lifting. The morning or rest may bring relief in lower back pain. Many people experience pain in their lower back area when they cough or sneeze.

Lower right back pain can come because of overuse of the muscles from heavy lifting or bending the wrong way. It may also be the start of a serious problem with the liver. Part of the lower right back pain treatment will be to avoid heavy lifting as well as applying ice on the affected areas. Often the doctor will have you alternate between ice and heat. If an overweight person is experiencing lower right back pain, the doctor will often recommend a diet to avoid some stress on the back due to carrying the extra weight.

If the patient is a victim of disc herniations, the lower right back pain treatment may consist of bed rest for a couple weeks until it starts to improve. Physical therapy is also recommended both acute and chronic lower right back pain to relieve the pain and slow down the degeneration of the parts of the back involved. Physical therapy will not only provide you with exercises to help with the pain, but will show you new ways of standing, walking and bending to avoid future back problems.  Anti-inflammatory drugs are usually given to sufferers of lower right back pain.

In extreme cases, surgery is the recommended lower right back pain treatment, but this in only when all other treatment methods have failed.