What To Do When Lower Back Pain Strikes?

I`m not even going to talk about how common lower back pain has become simply because I am certain most of you (if not all) experienced it at some point in your life.

So, why it has become so common? What is causing it? What to do about it and how to treat it? These are just some of the questions we will be addressing today, so if you are interested in hearing the answer to these and many other questions, keep reading.

What Are The Most Common Causes?

One of the most common causes is injury, or a blow to the lower back area. Depending on the severity and the intensity of the injury, we can give a rough estimate of how long will this type of pain usually last.

If it was just a minor blow, like someone bumping into you in a friendly game of basketball, this pain will not be very severe and it will go away relatively quickly. On the other hand, if the blow to the back was intense and vigorous, it may leave some longer-lasting consequences and even fracture the bone. If this is the case, speak to your doctor immediately.

A herniated disc might also cause back problems, especially if it is putting additional pressure to the nerves in its surroundings. You can find out more about it here – Herniated Disc A Comprehensive Overview.

Problems with the spinal canal are especially dangerous and may cause severe, debilitating pain since they can obstruct the spinal cord and its nerves. These problems include:

Spinal stenosis or narrowing of the spinal canal
Spondylolisthesis – when one vertebrae slides over the other
Anatomical deformities of the spine
Bone spurs
Fractures
Arthritis

There are other causes, but these are the most common ones.

Symptoms Of Lower Back Pain

The most common symptom is, obviously, pain. Sometimes the pain can be very intense and interfere with the patient`s daily activities and walking or standing up can be almost unbearable.

The pain can radiate to the surrounding area affecting hips, groins and buttocks, but rarely goes down the leg (if this is the case, it could mean Sciatica).

In addition to pain, the patient might complain about muscle stiffness, soreness, spasms, inability to find a good seated position and localized sensitivity.

Lower Right And Left Side Back Pain – What Does It Mean?

People will sometimes complain about pain in one specific side of the back, either left or right. It is important to note this information as it can be a crucial one when diagnosing its cause.

One of the most obvious reasons for “one sided pain” is a blow to that specific area of the back, so that is just common sense and we will not go into it any deeper.

Kidney Pain. Kidney pain is one of those conditions that can affect either one of the sides, depending on which kidney is in trouble. A kidney stone or a kidney infection will often cause tenderness and in case you have a kidney stone, you can experience quite a nasty pain just above the hip.

Pregnancy can also cause left or right side pain, but we will talk more about it in the following section.

Other common symptoms are:

Poor posture
Muscle disbalance
Heavy lifting

Pregnancy

Lower back pain is fairly common in pregnancy since body is going through numerous changes and the strain to the muscles and the joints increases.

The pain on the left and/or the right side can present itself since the uterus is expanding, abdominal muscles are stretching and your posture might suffer some changes. All these changes influence your back and can cause pain when standing, walking and even sitting.

What To Do About Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is, unfortunately, a reality for many back pain sufferers across the globe. It can be caused by a repetitive motion (in athletes), severe injury or fracture or as a consequence of past performed surgeries.

It can also be caused by a herniated disc, spinal stenosis or any other condition where nerves are affected.

Treatment usually involves physical therapy, massage, back braces for support, medication and injections.

Diarrhea And Pain?

Many people can and do experience diarrhea and lower back pain at the same time, so there has been a lot of talk if there is a link.

Since the diarrhea is usually caused by some dietary issue, it is highly unlikely that we can link it to back pain. Patient may feel pain in the abdomen and confuse it with back pain, but that`s about it.

Best Office Chair For Pain In The Lower Back?

If you are experiencing this pain, then you must know how much of a torture are those long working hours in the office. For this precise reason, choosing the best chair to support your back is vital if you want to safeguard your back and relieve your pain.

We covered this topic in more details in another article, so feel free to take a look – Can Ergonomic Chair Help With Your Back Pain

Stretches

I found that yoga can do a great job in helping you get lower spine pain relief, which is why we are going to go through a couple of the best poses in the following lines, so stick around!

Pigeon Pose

This pose can be a bit challenging at first, but you`ll get the hang of it and experience its full benefits, just don’t give up after first few tries.

Sit on the floor and extend your left leg behind you while flexing your right leg in-front of you. Hold for 5 seconds and repeat on the other side. See the image below for demonstration:

Butterfly Pose

This is a simple pose but if you are not flexible, it can be a bit challenging. Sit on the floor, flex your legs in the knees so that your feet are up against each other. Hold the position for 5 seconds.

Happy Baby Pose

Instead of trying to explain this pose to you, I think it would be better to just show you the picture. By the way, you should hold the stretch for 5 seconds.