Low Back Pain
Many people suffer from lower back pain at some point in their lives. In fact, it is one of the most common reasons for GP consultation and low back pain - back pain in general- costs the UK economy billions of pounds every year. So let’s have a look at the structure, some symptoms and causes of low back pain.
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What are the most common symptoms of low back pain?
Low back pain symptoms can vary greatly from person to person and often ranges from a dull ache to episodes of sharp pain on movement. Low back pain can be really localized to the spine, it can be located on one side of the spine or both sides of the spine. Sometimes patients can really pinpoint the painful area and sometimes describe it as a band going across the low back.
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What are the most common causes of low back pain?
Like the symptoms, the causes of low back pain can be varied and often involve several of the structures described above. The intervertebral discs and muscles in the low back are often involved and identifying which structures are responsible for the patient’s low back pain is essential in order to provide the best treatment and management.
Although low back pain can be painful and affect daily activities, most low back pain of musculo-skeletal origin gets better over time and with proper diagnosis, treatment and management.
So, if you have been suffering from low back pain and would like to know if we can help, feel free to get in touch, we will be happy to discuss it with you.
Structure of the low back
The spine is made of four units: the neck, the mid back, the low back and the sacrum. The low back area is known as the lumbar spine and is made of several structures.
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Bones: There are 5 vertebrae - the building blocks of the spine - and are often numbered or referred as L1 to L5, L5 being the lowest vertebra in the spine, just before the tailbone (AKA the sacrum). The vertebrae in the low back tend to be chunkier than in the rest of the spine as they have to deal with a lot of weight and forces in the area.
Intervertebral discs: These are located between each vertebrae and play an important role in absorbing forces going through the spine as well as allowing smooth movement between each vertebrae.
Joints: The joints in the spine are commonly known as “Facet joints”. Each vertebra is made of 2 sets of facet joints. One pair faces upward (superior articular facet) and one downward (inferior articular facet) so a facet joint is made of the facets of the vertebra above (for example L1) with the facet of the vertebra below (L2). The facet joints are enclosed in a capsule and have lubricating fluid inside.
Muscles: There are several layers (from superficial to deep) which help support and move each vertebra as well as the whole lumbar spine as a unit.