Why does my lower back hurt?

The most common causes of lower back pain are mechanical issues and soft tissue injuries. Any of the anatomical structures in your back can be a source for pain, including:

• Vertebrae

• Intervertebral joints

• Muscles

• Ligaments

• Tendons

• Intervertebral discs

• Spinal nerves

Depending on the type of pain you’re experiencing — including dull, achy, sharp, and stabbing pain — and if your pain travels anywhere — like down your legs — the team at NuVive Medical can narrow down the potential cause of your pain and through medical, ortho/neuro and functional exams, accurately diagnose your condition.

What conditions cause lower back pain?

Many different musculoskeletal conditions can cause lower back pain, including:

• Intersegmental joint dysfunction

• Facet syndrome

• Scoliosis

• Strains and sprains

• Arthritis

• Spondylolisthesis

• Degenerative joint disease

• Degenerative disc disease

• Herniated discs

• Radiculopathy

• Sciatica

Each condition presents with its own unique combination of signs and symptoms, including the location and intensity of your pain. In order to help the team diagnose your pain, be prepared to answer questions about activities that worsen or improve your pain and any known causes or triggers of your pain.

What are signs of a lower back injury?

In addition to lower back pain, other potential signs of a lower back injury include:

• Pain with coughing, sneezing or having a bowel movement

• Decreased range of motion and stiffness

• Feeling like your back will “give out” or spasm with movement

• Inability to bend forward, backward, or side to side

• Popping and clicking in your back

• Pain, numbness, or tingling in your legs

• Buttock pain

Even mild lower back pain that lasts more than three to five days warrants a consultation and exam. Occasional back pain is fairly normal, but a pain that lasts longer than a week or flares up often requires a medical assessment, diagnosis, and treatment in order to prevent the pain from becoming severe or chronic.

How is lower back pain treated?

The NuVive Medical team takes a multi-step approach to address lower back pain, based on your specific diagnosis. The first step of treatment involves reducing your pain through passive modalities, including hot and cold therapy, trigger point therapy and chiropractic care, and more, depending on your specific needs. As your pain decreases, the team moves to the second step and adds active care through rehab therapy to address any underlying muscle strength imbalances or issues with flexibility.

As you recover, the team incorporates additional therapies and advanced treatment strategies to resolve the underlying cause of your pain and prevent a recurrence of your pain, whenever possible.

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