What Is Causing My Lower Back Pain

So What Symptoms Constitute A Strained Back

Some patients report hearing a pop when tearing their back muscles, just before shooting pain develops and continues to worsen as movement takes place. Its fairly common to feel muscle spasming and cramps around the injury site.

In some cases, the back pain can feel less intense, but gradually grows to become more chronic in nature. Pain can last up to three months, but this period of suffering can elongate and become impossible to shift should professional help not be sought.

Should you want a professional diagnosis, your MD will look through your patient history and perform a physical examination. Oftentimes, youll be put forward for an x-ray to determine the cause of injury.

Symptoms Of Stomach Ulcers

The stomach and digestive tract are lined with delicate mucus membranes. Once damaged, this tissue can be easily aggravated, causing pain and other symptoms. A healthcare provider can diagnose the cause of your pain by asking about symptoms like:

• Pain or discomfort between meals or when you eat
• Stomach pain that wakes you from your sleep
• Becoming full quickly when you eat
• Burning or dull pain in your stomach
• Pain that comes and goes over days or weeks
• Discomfort that lasts several minutes to hours

More severe ulcers may cause:

• Sudden or severe pains that extend to your back

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Chronic Or Acute Pain

• Acute pain starts suddenly and lasts for up to 6 weeks.
• Chronic or long-term pain develops over a longer period, lasts for over 3 months, and causes ongoing problems.

If a person has both occasional bouts of more intense pain and fairly continuous mild back pain, it can be hard for a doctor to determine whether they have acute or chronic back pain.

Back pain usually resolves with rest and home remedies, but sometimes medical treatment is necessary.

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Learn More About Lower Back Pain Symptoms And Tests For Athletes

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After your exam and diagnostic tests for lower back pain, your doctor will review the results and develop the best treatment plan for you.

Lower back pain treatments for athletes and nonathletes may include:

• An exercise program to strengthen your back and core muscles.
• A weight loss program.
• Therapy to improve your posture and how you move.
• Over-the-counter drugs, like a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory or acetaminophen, to help relieve lower back pain symptoms.

If a structural issue such as osteoporosis is the cause of your lower back pain, your doctor may address that problem with changes in your diet and exercise.

What Are The Benefits Of Sleeping With A Pillow Between Your Knees

When you sleep on your side, your knees naturally fall together, which can cause your spine to misalign. It may be comfortable for a while, but it can be hard on your back after some time, especially if you aren’t sleeping on the right mattress for a side sleeper. With a pillow between your knees you can keep your back in proper alignment.

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What Causes Lumbar Strain

Injury can damage the tendons and muscles in the lower back. Pushing and pulling sports, such as weight lifting or football, can lead to a lumbar strain. In addition, sports that require sudden twisting of the lower back, such as in tennis, basketball, baseball, and golf, can lead to this injury.

Certain risk factors can increase the risk for this injury. The risk factors are:

• Severe lower back curvature
• Weak back or belly muscles
• Tight hamstrings

How Is Indigestion Diagnosed

A healthcare provider will review your medical history, symptoms and lifestyle. Try to explain your indigestion in as much detail as possible. Note the type of discomfort and where you feel it. Also tell your healthcare provider when you experience indigestion. For example, does it occur after a meal or on an empty stomach? Is it worse in the morning or at night? Do certain foods make it worse?

Your healthcare provider will do a physical exam. Theyll check your belly for swelling or tenderness. They may use a stethoscope to check your stomach for growling or gurgling.

Other diagnostic tests may include:

• Blood tests, to assess your liver, kidney and thyroid function.
• Breath test, to check for H pylori.
• Imaging exams, to check for blockages or other problems in the intestines. Imaging exams may include X-ray,CT scan or upper endoscopy.
• Stool test, to check poop for H. pylori or other bacterial infections.

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What Are The Causes Of Lower Back Pain

The vast majority of patients experience back pain because of mechanical reasons. They strain a muscle from heavy lifting or twisting, suffer a sudden jolt in a car accident, experience stress on spinal bones and tissues resulting in a , or suffer from osteoarthritis, a potentially painful degeneration of one or more spinal joints. Common causes for low back pain are:

• mechanical or functional injury
• active infection

To choose the safest and most effective therapy, doctors need to consider the full spectrum of possible underlying issues, such as inflammatory conditions, fracture, infection, as well as some serious conditions unrelated to the back that radiate pain to the back.

What Causes Low Back Pain

It is usually caused by muscle strain in your lower back. If you strain a muscle in your back, it can hurt to move it.

Another cause of low back pain is a bulging disk. Disks in your spine give cushioning and support. When a disk bulges, or herniates, it may irritate a nerve . This can cause pain that travels down your thigh or leg. Pain caused by nerve irritation is called sciatica .

In rare cases, back pain may be caused by an infection, cancer, or other diseases.

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Lower Back Pain Diagnosis

To help diagnose your lower back pain, an expert at UPMC Sports Medicine will observe the way you walk and move.

He or she will also ask you about the sports you play and other things you do each day that might cause your back pain.

Along with an exam, certain tests can pinpoint the cause of lower back pain.

Some tests look for issues with hard structures, like your spine or bones.

These may include:

• Bone scans to look for breaks, infection, or tumors in the backbones.
• Bone density studies to help diagnose osteoporosis.

Other tests look for problems in soft structures, like the nerves and spinal cord

These tests may include:

• MRI scans to take pictures of the lower back nerves or spinal cord.
• Electromyography and nerve conduction velocity tests to see how well the electrical signals in your nerves send messages to your arms and legs.

How Is Rap Diagnosed

When you or your child sees the doctor about RAP, theyâll ask about symptoms and family history. Theyâll want to know when the pain starts and what seems to make it feel worse or better. Then, theyâll do a thorough physical exam.

Theyâll probably take samples of blood and urine to do some tests. They also can order a scan to look inside your body for a problem, such as a CT scan, MRI, or an ultrasound. If youâre over age 50, you may get a colonoscopy, which is when a doctor uses a thin, flexible tool with a camera to look for problems inside your colon and rectum.

The results of these tests will help your doctor decide what kind of treatment will help you or your child the most. If a specific health issue is making your stomach hurt, youâll need to get treatment for that problem. Your doctor could also suggest lifestyle changes like eating different foods or finding ways to manage stress. Often, a mix of different things helps.

If your belly pain keeps coming back for 6 months and your doctor canât find a medical reason why, you may have functional abdominal pain.

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Causes Of Lower Back Pain In The Morning

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How Is Indigestion Treated

Most people find relief from indigestion by making diet changes or taking medication. Your healthcare provider may recommend a combination of both.

Diet changes include:

• Avoiding foods or drinks that trigger indigestion.
• Cutting down on alcohol, caffeine and carbonated drinks.
• Removing fatty, spicy or acidic foods from your diet.

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Meet Tria Neck And Back Strengthening Program: A Leader In Active Physical Therapy Programs

Your active physical therapy program needs to be intensive and specifically designed to strengthen and condition your back and core. And early on, you need specialized equipment that can help you target those specific muscles. Thats where TRIA Neck and Back Strengthening Program can help.

We opened TRIA Neck and Back Strengthening Program nearly 30 years ago, and weve worked with more than 200,000 patients in that time.

Our active physical therapy program for back pain focuses on spine strengthening. Through this program, youll start by doing an intake with a doctor or a physical therapist who specializes in spine care. Theyll work with you to determine your best treatment plan. Then youll start working one-on-one with a physical therapist who specializes in helping people heal chronic pain.

Want to learn more about TRIA Neck and Back Strengthening Program? Watch this short video.

Your therapy will happen at one of our facilities that features state-of-the-art medical exercise equipment. Programs range usually from six to 12 weeks, but it all depends on your progress and your goals. Youll learn about what chronic pain is and how the brain processes it. Youll also focus on body mechanics such as proper lifting, standing and sleeping all the things that can contribute to back pain but you may not think about.

Since our programs are intensive and last for several weeks, its a good time to use your Flexible Savings Account dollars or your insurance .

What Is Lower Right Back Pain What Does It Feel Like

Lower right back pain can feel mild like a dull ache, moderate like a heavy weight or severe with a piercing stab. The pain can come and go or last a long time.

Pain can radiate, which means it can spread from one place in your body to another. For example, the nerves that are part of your kidneys are connected to the nerves attached to the ligaments and tissues in your back. So, if your kidneys hurt, you might also feel pain in your back, including the lower right section of your back.

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Rare And Unusual Causes

Rare and unusual causes of dull lower back pain may include the following.

• Abdominal aortic aneurysm : This is a life-threatening enlargement of the aorta, the main blood vessel supplying blood to the abdomen. It can cause pain throughout the abdomen or lower back. While gradual expansion may cause a dull pain, sudden leakage or rupture is associated with severe, often sharp pain, and signs of shock.
• Tumors: Cancer may originate in another part of the body and spread to the back. Chronic low back pain can be a symptom of testicular, ovarian, or colon cancer. Tumors can also be benign but otherwise affect structures of the lower back, causing pain.

This list does not constitute medical advice and may not accurately represent what you have.

What Causes Lower Right Back Pain What Is Lower Right Back Pain A Symptom Of

Causes of lower right back pain can be divided into two categories: mechanical problems and underlying conditions. Mechanical problems have to do with the bones and tissues in your back your ligaments, spine, tendons and muscles. Underlying conditions are disorders of your organs. Pain from conditions that affect your organs can radiate to your back.

Mechanical problems:

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More Advanced Care Options

Surgery When other therapies fail, surgery may be considered to relieve pain caused by worsening nerve damage, serious musculoskeletal injuries, or nerve compression. Specific surgeries are selected for specific conditions/indications. However, surgery is not always successful. It may be months following surgery before the person is fully healed and there may be permanent loss of flexibility. Surgical options include:

Implanted nerve stimulators

• Spinal cord stimulation uses low-voltage electrical impulses from a small implanted device that is connected to a wire that runs along the spinal cord. The impulses are designed to block pain signals that are normally sent to the brain.
• Dorsal root ganglion stimulation also involves electrical signals sent along a wire connected to a small device that is implanted into the lower back. It specifically targets the nerve fibers that transmit pain signals. The impulses are designed to replace pain signals with a less painful numbing or tingling sensation.
• Peripheral nerve stimulation also uses a small implanted device and an electrode to generate and send electrical pulses that create a tingling sensation to provide pain relief.

What Does It Mean If Lower Back Pain Is Shooting Into Legs

Lower back pain can radiate to other parts of the body: up or down from its place of origin. Sometimes lower back pain can be on one side of the back, which is also normal.

If the pain is shooting from the lower back into one or both legs, it could be sciatica , but its not always the case. There are many parts in the lower back that may cause the pain to radiate into the legs, such as facet joints, sacroiliac joints, muscles or inflammation of the bursa.

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Lower Back Pain: What Could It Be

Do you have lower back pain? You are not alone. Anyone can experience lower back pain at any time, even if you dont have a prior injury or any of the risk factors. It is not always serious and can often get better on its own. But in some cases pain is your bodys way of telling you that something isnt right.

Learn more about lower back pain and what causes it from rehabilitation physician Akhil Chhatre, M.D., who specializes in back pain in the Johns Hopkins Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Mechanical Lower Back Pain

Because it represents 97% of cases, mechanical low back pain deserves to be discussed first. To determine the factors that bring out the pain, the doctor will consider the following causes of mechanical low back pain:

• Spondylolisthesis .
• Osteoarthritis .
• Spinal stenosis .

Low back pain that gets worse with sitting may indicate a herniated lumbar disc . This is because certain positions of the body can change the amount of pressure that an out-of-place disc can press on a nerve. This is one reason we suggest to people with low back pain to periodically get up and stretch or walk around rather than continually stay sitting. Acute onset, that is, pain that comes on suddenly, may suggest a herniated disc or a muscle strain, as opposed to a more gradual onset of pain, which fits more with osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, or spondylolisthesis.

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How Can I Prevent Low Back Pain

You can prevent low back pain with physical therapy, exercises, and stretching. Supports and back belts do not prevent low back pain.

Keep in shape, lose weight if you are overweight, and exercise regularly. Being inactive can lead to low back pain. Regular exercise like walking, swimming, or biking is good for your back. These activities put less stress on your back than sitting and standing.

Don’t lift heavy objects by bending over at the waist. Bend your hips and knees and then squat to pick up the object. Keep your back straight and hold the object close to your body. Don’t twist your body while you are lifting.

If you have to sit at your desk or drive for a long time, take breaks to stretch.

What Structures Make Up The Back

The lower backwhere most back pain occursincludes the five vertebrae in the lumbar region, which supports much of the weight of the upper body. The spaces between the vertebrae are maintained by round, rubbery pads called intervertebral discs that act like shock absorbers throughout the spinal column to cushion the bones as the body moves. Bands of tissue known as ligaments hold the vertebrae in place, and tendons attach the muscles to the spinal column. Thirty-one pairs of nerves are rooted to the spinal cord and they control body movements and transmit signals from the body to the brain.

Other regions of vertebrate are cervical , thoracic , and sacral and coccygeal segments.

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What Causes Degenerative Discs And Herniated Discs

Why is the lower back a target area for pain? “Generally speaking, the lower back is subject to a lot of mechanical stress and strain,â says Gunnar Andersson, MD, PhD, professor and chairman emeritus of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. âThe reason is the weight of the upper body, which always puts loads on the lower back.”

Supporting all that upper body weight is the spine, which is made up of more than 30 small bones called vertebrae stacked one on top of the other. A spongy piece of cartilage, called a disc, sits between each vertebra. It acts as a shock absorber, preventing the bony vertebrae from grinding against one another.

With age, these cushioning discs gradually wear away and shrink, a condition known as degenerative disc disease. Discs can also tear or become injured. Sometimes the weakening of a disc can put pressure on its jelly-like center. Wisneski describes this process as similar to a bubble forming on your car’s tire.

“You hit a bump in the road, then all of a sudden that tire goes pop,” he says. In the case of your back, that pressure can lead to a herniated disc , in which the center of the disc bulges.

A herniated disc in the lower back can put pressure on the nerve that extends down the spinal column. This commonly causes pain to radiate to the buttocks and all the way down the leg. This condition is called sciatica.