What Causes Simple or Non-Specific Lower Back Pain

Of all the lower back pain causes simple lower back pain is by far the most common. Nearly 80% of us will get back pain in our lives and 95% of the time it will be this type. It affects all ages from children to elders.

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Luckily this type of back pain is not serious, but it can be very painful and troublesome and can cause a lot of disruption in your life. The effects of having it and not coping well with it can be serious, as it may interfere with work or home and social activities.

What are the main simple lower back pain causes?

This type of back problem occurs when your spine struggles to cope with the stresses and strains of daily life.

The human spine is a strong structure, perfectly designed for the job of protecting our spinal cord and allowing movement.

Sometimes though we ask a lot of our backs; we may have a job that involves holding static postures for long periods such as sitting or we may have jobs that involve lots of lifting and bending. Any repetitive activity, involving poor posture, either active or static can cause problems.

In addition our spines may have become stiff and inflexible over time because we haven’t stretched effectively for years. Sometimes our lifestyles are quite inactive and we don't move around or exercise as much as we should, with that we lose fitness and muscle tone. Usually it is a combination of these things that causes the problem.
The following diagram helps to visualise the relationship between postural stresses and pain.

Initially we manage the stresses and feel little discomfort. However over time our spines may age a little, or become less flexible because we don't pay enough attention to the poor postures we spend much of our day in. Gradually, and often without realising it, we move ourselves closer to the pain threshold.

Eventually we start to feel lower back pain as we get tipped over the pain threshold. The symptoms usually reduce and may even drop back below the threshold until pain is no longer felt again.

However, we may now be sitting just under the threshold and it may take very little to push us back over into the painful state again. This explains why sometimes very small things cause us to feel discomfort and why postural stresses are one of the key lower back pain causes.

What tissues cause the pain?

It is not always clear exactly which tissues are causing the pain; that's why it's called non-specific lower back pain. Sometimes it can appear to be caused by a strained facet joint. Pain and spasm in the back muscles may accompany this as these may tighten up in order to support and protect a sore joint.

Sometimes age changes in the tissues and joints are evident and although this is rarely the sole cause of the problem it may cause your back to be less able to cope with daily postural stresses.

Often many different tissues and structures are sore and its hard to pinpoint the exact tissue that is causing the back ache. Sometimes there is no tissue injury at all, or it has healed up long ago, yet we still continue to experience pain that is driven by our nervous system generating painful sensations. Very often all these different things add up and together they all have a part to play in lower back pain causes.

Simple Back Pain -How does it start?
Overview of Simple Back Pain
Lower Back Pain Causes - Overview

Lower Back Pain Toolkit Home Page

29-Oct-2012