Health Chat with Dr Lizie Pilicy – Back Pain

Health Chat with Dr. Lizie Pilicy – Chiropractor

Discusses the Common Reasons for Back Pain

Understanding the cause of your back pain is the key to proper treatment.  There are many different underlying conditions that cause back pain. The more common causes of back pain are described below. Don’t try to make your own diagnosis. A trained chiropractor that deals with back pain complaints on a daily basis will know what to look for and what questions to ask you to determine the underlying cause.

1. Muscle strains and muscle spasms are the most common cause of low back pain.  You may or may not remember the initial event that triggered the muscle spasm or muscle soreness. Back pain from muscle spasms can be incredibly painful and feel tingly, numb or like nerve pain when the muscles tighten and twitch around a large nerve, such as the sciatic nerve.
2. A ruptured intervertebral disc, also called a herniated disc, is another common cause of back pain. The terms ruptured, herniated, slipped and bulging disc don’t really have precise definitions to distinguish one from another and are often used somewhat interchangeably to describe protruding disc material. It is important to note that a large percent of the population is walking around with bulging discs that initially cause no symptoms.  However, if left uncorrected over a long period of time a herniated disc can interfere with nerve function, become uncomfortable, and deteriorate your health. In addition, it will change your movement patterns and cause other issues.
3. Discogenic back pain is the result of damage to the intervertabral disc, but without a disc herniation.  Diagnosis of discogenic back pain may require the use of a discogram.
4. Spinal stenosis causes a lot of back pain in the elderly.  As we age, the spinal canal where the nerve lives can become constricted from arthritis (bone deterioration or formation of bony fragments) and other conditions.  If the spinal canal becomes too tight, back pain can be the result because it interferes with nerve function.
5. Arthritis most commonly affects joints such as the knees and fingers.  However, arthritis can affect any joint in the body, including the small joints of the spine.  Arthritis of the spine can cause back pain with movement or chronic soreness at rest.
6. Spondylolisthesis causes back pain because adjacent vertebra become unstable and begin to “slip.”  The most common cause of spondylolisthesis are degenerative changes causing loss of the normal stabilizing structures of the spinal column.

As stated earlier, backaches are hard to self-diagnose.  The causes listed above are just a few of the most common causes.  If you suffer from acute or chronic backaches, consult with Dr. Lizie Pilicy for a complete exam.