The Lower Back Pain Toolkit
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Simple lower back pain and back ache....continued
About Simple Lower back Pain
This is the most common type of back pain and there are lots of terms used to describe it for example:
Facet syndrome
Mechanical/postural back pain
Back muscle pain
Back Muscle spasm
Back ache
Lumbago
Lumbar strain
This type of backache occurs when your spine struggles to cope with the stresses and strains of daily life.
Our spines are strong structures, 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 postures for long periods such as sitting or bending.
Our spines may have become stiff and inflexible, because we haven’t stretched effectively for years.Sometimes our lifestyles are quite sedentary and we dont move around or exercse as much as we should, and 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 our spines age a little, become less flexible or we don’t pay enough attention to the poor postures we spend much of our day in.
Gradually, without realising it we move ourselves closer to the pain threshold. Eventually we start to feel 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.
It is not always clear exactly which tissues are causing the pain – that’s why it’s called non-specific low 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.
Often many different tissues and structures are sore and its hard to pinpoint the exact tissue that is causing the back ache. 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 lots of these different things add up and have a part to play in causing the problem.
How common is it?
Very, this is by far the most common type of back pain. 95% of sufferers of back pain have this problem.
Who gets it?
Nearly everyone! 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.
Is it serious?
No, luckily it 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.
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