What Causes Low Back Pain
Low back pain can be caused by a number of different conditions including:
- Arthritis – inflammation of the facet joints between the vertebrae due to disease process or wear-and-tear
- Facet Joint Syndrome – destruction of the bony surfaces of a facet joint due to disease (such as osteoarthritis), wear-and-tear, too much weight on the joint, or injury
- Pinched Nerve (radiculopathy [ra-dick-you-lop-a-thee]) – rubbing, pressure, or other irritation on a nerve in the spine
- Sciatica (sy-attic-a) – a pinched sciatic nerve, which runs from the lumbar spine into the buttocks, back of the thighs, and sometimes to the calf and foot
- Spinal Stenosis (sten-o-sis) – narrowing of a part of the spinal canal, which can cause nerve irritation and reduce oxygen and blood supply to the spinal cord
- Bulging Disc – usually due to wear-and-tear, and may lead to narrowing of the spinal canal
- Herniated (her-nee-a-tid) disc – damage to the outer surface of a disc allowing the soft inner material of the disc to press out of its normal space, usually occurs in the lumbar spine
- Segmental Instability – excess movement between two vertebrae, causing pinching or irritation of the nerve roots
