Most people suffer from back pain at some time in their lives, most
commonly in the lower back. Your doctor may have difficulty diagnosing
the cause of your backache, since there are many back pain causes,
some not due to problems with the back itself.
Causes of back pain include strains, sprains, spasms, disc herniation
(disc related problems), osteoarthritis (osteoporosis), rheumatoid
arthritis, ankylosing spondylosis, scoliosis, sciatica, traumatic injury,
facet joint pain, spinal stenosis, congenital defects and deformities,
and referred pain (from problems with kidneys, uterus, stomach or pancreas).
There may be physical causes of back pain, such as muscle strain (muscle
spasm), herniated disc and disc-related problems, facet joint pain,
traumatic injury, sciatica, scoliosis, lordosis and kyphosis, spinal
stenosis, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, spondylolysis or spondylolisthesis.
Work-related and accidental back injuries may be
difficult to avoid and can lead to partial or total disability, overwhelming
medical expenses and costly workers’ compensation benefits.
But even though you may have injured your back, you can still find
relief from back pain through various treatments and exercise, and
by heeding advice from professionals on how to avoid further injury.
Sometimes there are psychological factors, as well
as ‘referred
pain’, which can be due to problems with organs located close
to the lower back, such as the kidneys, uterus, stomach or pancreas.
Kidney stones can cause intermittent lower back pain and nausea and
a kidney infection can cause severe low back pain, discoloured urine
and fever. Drink plenty of water and see your doctor as soon as possible.
