What are Some of the Common Causes of Back Pain?

Trauma, unusual anatomy, nerve compression, ageing, overuse and disuse are common causes of back pain. You can just look at a skeleton and see for yourself all the many joints and bony connections there are in the back. As we get older these joints develop what we call osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is caused by the gradual wear and tear on the skeleton. We all develop osteoarthritis in varying degrees as we age. Unfortunately osteoarthritis can causes narrowing of the openings for the exiting nerves in the back resulting in spinal stenosis. Additionally, there are many soft tissue structures, including ligaments, tendons and muscles which can cause back pains. All of these structures, bone and soft tissue, are connected to nerves and can cause lots of pain.

What is Facet Joint Pain?

Facet joints are small joints in the back (posterior) of your spine. They are about the size of your finger joints. These joints stabilize your spine and form a protective arch around the spinal cord. They can be easily injured and show significant deterioration as we age. In the early 1900's, facet joints were thought to cause 70% - 80% of back pain. The pain from facets can radiate to the upper part of your legs and feel like sciatica. Most often the pain from the facet joints is in lower back and hurts when you bend, stand or walk and turn or twist. This is the kind of pain often hurts most when you get out of bed in the morning, or bend over and try to pick something up.

What is Sacroiliac Joint Pain?

The sacroiliac joints are the big joints that hold your pelvis together. They alternately support all your weight when you walk. Because of all the weight placed on them, they are under a lot of stress. Today, it is believed that ligament strain, weakness or injury is causes of sacroiliac joint pain. This pain is often extremely severe. The pain frequently radiates to the legs, knees, groin, hip and feet. Often patients have pain on one side only and it can be so severe that he/she is unable to stand or sleep.

What is a Herniated Disc?

A herniated disc is an injured disc that protrudes or pushes against a nerve and causes pain and often numbness or weakness in an arm, if it is in the neck (cervical), or a leg, if it is in the lumbar spine. Herniated discs often occur after an injury or after lifting heavy objects. Today, surgery is not always necessary, as modern treatments can often reduce the size of the herniated disc and relieve the pain. These new and minimally invasive non-surgical procedures have been shown to offer many people excellent relief without long periods of healing and rehabilitation.

What is Discogenic Pain?

Many times a disc is injured, but not herniated. Injured discs can hurt and often have symptoms similar to herniated discs. These injured discs can be treated and the pain eliminated.

What is Spinal Stenosis?

Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal and the openings for spinal nerves. After severe trauma and as we get older, changes in our spine causes a narrowing of the canal. At the same time, extra calcium forms in the canal and at the nerve root openings. The narrow openings can cause compression or pinching of the spinal cord and exiting nerves. Frequently, the nerve compression occurs only with walking or weight bearing.

What is a Compression Fracture?

A compression fracture is the partial collapse of a vertebral body (vertebra) in the back. This can occur after severe trauma or as the result bone demineralization from osteoporosis and the loss of bone calcium. These fractures not only are themselves painful, but can also cause additional pain by compressing the nerves near the fracture and can stress other support structures of the spine.

What are Myofascial Pain and Soft Tissue Pain?

Myofascial pain is muscle pain, often characterized by tight bands or trigger points within the muscles. It often involves the lower and mid-back muscles but frequently includes upper shoulder and neck muscles. This pain problem is common in both young and older patients. It frequently occurs after overuse of muscles as in the "weekend warrior", but is also common in addition to other chronic spine pains. This pain can be incapacitating and last for long periods of time.