5+ Shocking Causes of Lower Back Pain and How to Prevent ThemMost people experience lower back pain which hinders them from performing their daily tasks effectively and adequately. Moreover, lower back pain is a common reason employees are absent from work and seek professional health workers’ advice. And when it is neglected, it may result in disability. 

People need to be cautious to prevent having lower back pain, but if there’s an instance that it can’t be avoided, some methods to ease the pain can be applied, such as home remedies, and eventually, the pain will go away. The invasive method of treating back pain is often not required. 

Are you one of those many people who are suffering from lower back pain? Do you know why you’re experiencing that? Or so that you know what to do when you have your back pain episodes. Let’s talk about the various causes of lower back pain to keep yourself away from encountering it. 

Causes of Lower Back Pain

Some causes of lower back pain are due to some health issues. If someone has an underlying health condition, there’s a possibility that the medical concern causes back pain. 

On the other hand, there are times that back pain occurs without a cause, but a doctor can determine the root cause of the problem through an imaging study condition or a test. Let’s name a few of the underlying health issues that may be the reason for lower back pain.

Stress

You’ll be surprised how much effect stress can do on our body if not addressed right away. Stress can be literally a pain in the neck and back. Someone who is stressed out may experience mood swings, headaches, including lower back pain. 

Infection

Osteomyelitis is a spinal infection that can be threatening is not addressed immediately. The condition is rarely the cause of back pain, especially to young and healthy adults. People can have infections due to spread in the bloodstream, injections, or invasive procedures. 

In addition, individuals with a vulnerable immune system are likely to be in danger of having spinal infections. 

Trauma

One of the causes of lower back pain is trauma due to a fall or a vehicular accident. When there’s a severe subluxation or fracture in the spine, it may lead to pain in the lower back. And if the situation is acute, a medical examination is required. 

Sciatica

Another culprit for lower back pain is sciatica. Sciatica is the pain someone may feel along the sciatic nerve from the buttock to the lower back and hip. The pain is usually one-sided, mainly due to sitting on a bulging thing such as a wallet. According to one study, half of the participants who sit on a filled wallet in their back pocket for extended hours result in incorrect posture, which leads to one of the many causes of lower back pain. 

Autoimmune Disease

Autoimmune diseases are also factors that result in lower back pain. An autoimmune condition happens when the body’s immune system attacks the natural body, mistakenly thinking it’s an intruder. In addition, instead of fighting infection, it strikes the body tissues. 

Inflammation results from an immune system attack, and if the condition worsens, there’s a debilitating pain in the joints.

The typical autoimmune conditions that are  causes of lower back pain include;

• Rheumatoid arthritis: When the immune system attacks the joints, swelling, inflammation, and pain (in the back and neck) arise, which leads to rheumatoid arthritis. Moreover, if the condition is neglected, it can result in permanent damage to the joints. 
• Psoriatic arthritis: People with psoriasis tend to experience psoriatic arthritis. And when they have psoriatic arthritis, they encounter both joint inflammation and itchy, red patches in the skin. 
• Multiple sclerosis (MS): The immune system attacks the nervous system, and when this happens, there’s a disruption in the communication of the brain and the body. Hence, making the brain send the wrong signal to the body. Some symptoms of multiple sclerosis are weakness, poor coordination, muscle spasms, pain, and blindness.
• Systemic lupus erythematosus: Someone with systemic lupus erythematosus may feel headaches, joint pain, swelling in the joints, spots, or exhaustion. Furthermore, the affected part of the body when the immune system attacks are the joints, lungs, kidneys, blood cells, and nerves.
• Ankylosing spondylitis: An autoimmune disorder typically affects the vertebrae, making them fuse and less flexible, leading to poor posture. 

Treatment for various autoimmune disorders varies from one condition. Talk to your doctor about the proper treatment if you have one of these autoimmune diseases. Or you can also visit a chiropractor to treat your back pain through chiropractic treatment. 

Other Causes of Lower Back Pain

There are many causes of lower back pain, and the pain may be minor to chronic. Being educated on the other lower back pain causes helps everyone be cautious and prevent the possible factors that may lead to excruciating pain in the back.

Prolonged Sitting

Among the causes of lower back pain is sitting for long periods. Our body is designed to move; therefore, sitting still for extended hours leads to pain in the lower back. Someone may have a painful sensation after slouching or driving for a couple of hours. So, avoid being a couch potato to prevent having lower back pain. 

Carrying Heavy Objects

People who often carry heavy loads on their backs are other causes of lower back pain. For example, carrying computer bags and heavy backpacks may lead to an uncomfortable pain sensation in the lower back. 

Furthermore, lifting hefty objects forces the muscles in the lower back to work harder, which results in lower back pain. Besides that, twisting, bending the trunk, overstretching, and extreme tallness are other causes of lower back pain. 

Phone Usage

Though we are enjoying the benefits of modern technology today, there are consequences that we can encounter if not used correctly—for example, cellphone usage. Many people today are on their phones most of the time, whether it’s job-related, just texting, or browsing. And when receiving calls, we tend to place our bodies in an uncomfortable position for an extended period. And this is one of the causes of lower back pain.

Shoes and Sandals

Our shoes and sandals are excellent fashion statements; however, not all of them are helpful to our back. Some of our footwear are causes of lower back pain. It’s better to choose footwear with arch support and provide stability to the back, feet, and hips to prevent ourselves from developing back pain. 

Obesity

Our bodies are designed to carry a specific weight. Therefore, the extra pounds will damage our spine if we gain weight because it can’t hold the body anymore. 

Smoking

Smokers experience chronic back pain three times more than non-smokers because smoking prevents or limits the blood flow in the body, which causes the discs to age prematurely. 

How to Prevent Back Pain?

However cautious we are, accidents happen and are inevitable, which may lead to lower back pain. We provided some of the ways to prevent lower back pain.

Maintain Proper Posture

Being aware of your proper posture decreases the possibility of having lower back pain. So, whether you’re sitting down or standing up, make sure that you do these positions with proper posture. 

Furthermore, avoid slouching (though it feels good to do so) since it’s not beneficial to your spine. 

Stop Smoking

It’s about time to cease smoking to avoid having back pain. As mentioned earlier, smokers tend to experience chronic lower back pain three times compared to non-smokers. 

Employ Someone to Do the Lifting

When you need to lift heavy objects, whether at home or your office, and this is not your usual task, it’s better to hire somebody or a crew to do the lifting for you. If you think that shelling out money to hire a lifting crew is a waste, think again. Because you might be saving money when hiring a crew than spending it to the hospital for your back injury. 

However, if you can’t avoid carrying heavy objects, don’t forget to use support such as a small hand cart that comes in handy whenever you need it. 

Go Swimming

Swimming is a fantastic method to loosen tight muscles and destress your stressed joints. Moreover, it helps to make your core muscles and back stronger. 

Choose an Ergonomic Chair

When your job requires you to sit for 8-9 hours a day, choosing an ergonomic chair would be helpful for your back. The ergonomic chairs are designed to support the back and provide comfort, good posture, and a healthy body. 

Chiropractic Treatment

Chiropractic care is another fantastic method to alleviate lower back pain. Since chiropractors find the root cause of the problem and treat it instead of the symptoms, a regular visit to a chiropractor will make your lower back pain go away.