Comments on: What causes back pain?

By: Marc Croker

Marc Croker — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 23:40:37 +0000

One of the most difficult things for your spine to endure is sitting for long periods. Slouching offers the least resistance to gravity and expends the least amount of energy but the trade off is that your normal lumbar lordosis (spinal curve) reverses. This essentially strains the facet joints, and the lower lumbar discs resulting in an inflammatory process and pain. The most effective way of returning normal movement to your spine is chiropractic manipulation. The best way of preventing this from returning in the future is to sit with your knees lower than your hips and do what you can to avoid slouching.

By: Blanchery

Blanchery — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:48:05 +0000

I started to felt back waist pain around 2 months ago. Previously i had been facing alot of computer for doing assignments, watching movies, i admit that i have a non proper sitting position. i hunched. Now my back waist starts to felt hurt when i bend down, like collecting my something. I also felt pain when im just sitting down on my chair. I felt relieve when i lay on the bed. Can i know what is ur opinion that happened to my waist.thanksss

By: Trish

Trish — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 07:30:00 +0000

Thanks Mark. You were spot on – bulged disc. Seems to have come from issues with the hip flexor and psoas?
I have since had treatment and am much better – its great to be vertical and pain free. Makes you appreciate the days when you are fit and healthy!! Still not running yet but hopefully I will be give it a gentle go tomorrow.
Thanks so very much for your advice, you helped me get through a very painful day at the office! Pity Parramatta is not closer to Perth and I could have called on you for treatment!!
Cheers, Trish.

By: Marc Croker

Marc Croker — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 03:48:04 +0000

Hi Trish,

It is difficult to give advice without a thorough medical history and physical examination however based on your report I would not advise trying to straighten your spine or stretching it. The most likely cause of your pain is either acute inflammation of the facet joints in your lower lumbar spine or you have a disc bulge in your lower lumbar spine. Your pain is not likely to be muscular as it hurts to bend backwards. There are no back muscles that pull when you bend backwards. You are therefore compressing some swelling from an inflammatory process in the lower back and this is causing your “electric-shock like spasm”. You would be best to put some ice on your lower back (for 10minutes at a time, but not directly on your skin) to reduce any inflammation that you can, and get some chiropractic therapy to correct the dysfunction in your lumbar spine. As you have only had the pain since this morning and there is no pain in your legs, your symptoms should resolve quickly if you don’t delay getting treatment.

By: Trish

Trish — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 03:02:46 +0000

Hi Mark
I am an extremely fit and active person (I run 5 times a week and regular cyclist) and have never suffered from lower back pain. This morning I was getting ready for work putting on some makeup in the bathroom when I got sudden shooting pain in my lower back.
It is now 5 hours later and I cannot stand up straight without pain. If I’m sitting there is some lower back discomfort, but to stand and walk causes an extremely painful electric-shock like spasm in my lower back.
I have taken some ibuprofen and panadol, but it has gotten worse since this morning.
Should I try to straighten out my spine or stretch it?
Thanks

Trish.

By: Marc Croker

Marc Croker — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 10:13:17 +0000

Hi Florentina,
Medication for pain relief is certainly necessary at times to make it through the day. If you have an injury and medication removes the pain then you have no way of knowing if your activities are aggravating your injury. Pain is your body’s cry for help. It is important to identify and treat the cause of the pain so that the injury can heal properly. Otherwise that pain continues to return and you end up taking medication for months if not years. Most sprain / strain injuries with heal within 6-8 weeks. If you haven’t had any therapy and your pain is still requiring medication one month after your injury then you will need some form of physical therapy to resolve your injury properly. Most injuries will require treatment to achieve maximum healing.

By: Florentina Shanahan

Florentina Shanahan — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 16:14:22 +0000

This sort might be relieved by over the counter (OTC) painkillers as paracetamol and if a stronger 1 is necessary, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAD) as ibuprofen or one that demands a prescription a mild opiate as codeine taken with paracetamol or NSAD. Medications for treating back pains are:The non-steroidal anti-flammatory medicines, the generic ibuprofen with brands like naproxen and ketopropen, inhibitors as COX-2 also known as celocoxib, acetaminophen which taken to relieve acute discomfort varied muscle relaxants, opioids analgesics and steroid injections.

By: Marc Croker

Marc Croker — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 23:47:09 +0000

Hi Cassie,
The fundamental cause of back pain is that there is stiffness somewhere in the vicinity of the pain which is leading to a sprain/strain injury. Pain and stiffness go together without fail when it comes to mechanical musculoskeletal pain. With stiffness in your back something has to give and for you this is manifesting as joints “popping”. This means that there are hypermobile (loose) joints in your back which are moving excessively. You need to see a chiropractor to restore normal movement and function to your back so that you no longer feel stiffness and pain. It will also eliminate the popping in your back. Once this is achieved you should find it much easier to get a good nights sleep. Sometimes the mattress can play a part in causing lower back pain but you will only know this after you have treated the back pain itself.

By: cassie

cassie — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 18:10:59 +0000

Hello,
It seems as if no matter how i lay, i still get stuck in the position and my back pops when i turn to a different position, i have limited movement when trying to lean back wards to stretch. I am very stiff in the mornings, accompanied by the pops when i get up, very sore and stiff, I changed my mattress 2 years ago, I have a body pillow that i use to sleep on my side to put my leg on to straighten my back while i sleep.the pain wakes me up at night when i change positions.
any suggestions would help,
thank you,
cassie 27 years old, ht 5’8 150 pounds semi active
thank you
thank you..

By: Marc Croker

Marc Croker — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 04:26:29 +0000

Hi. The thing to appreciate with back pain is that if your back has been sore in the past and the pain goes away, the injury itself may still be there. This means that your back is hyper sensitive to being re-injured. The only way of being sure that the mattress is causing your back and leg symptoms is to see a chiropractor, have any spinal problems corrected and then retry sleeping on the mattress again. If the pain doesn’t come back then it means that the mattress was simply a trigger for your back and leg symptoms and not necessarily the only cause of the problem. If the pain does come back then it means that the mattress is not supporting your back properly.
The other thing to consider is that if your old mattress is “a bit saggy” then you may have developed some spinal dysfunction from the old mattress and the new mattress is actually better for your back but your back cannot adapt to the new mattress. If your spinal dysfunction was corrected by a chiropractor you may then find it easier to sleep on the new mattress and less on the old mattress.
The presence of leg pain and tingling is enough reason by itself to get professional help for your injury. Tingling in the leg may be a sign of a lumbar disc bulge which once herniated are often very difficult to treat. You should also consider other stressors to your back…in particular sitting for long periods is one of the most common causes of lower back pain.