Low Back Pain
No Need For Low Back Pain To Get Chicago Residents Down. We Can Help.
According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, 80 percent of Chicago residents will experience low back pain at some point during their lifetime. Of those, about 30 percent find themselves unable to recover within a year.
In addition, AAOS reports low back pain results in more days lost at work than the common cold.
Risk Factors
A variety of risk factors can contribute to low back pain, including:
Age: Starting at about ago 30, most Chicago residents will experience at least one incidence of low back pain.
School age: The U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission reports thousands of children are treated annually in doctor’s offices, clinics and hospitals throughout Chicago for low back pain due to injuries caused by overloaded backpacks.
Sedentary lifestyle: The couch potato lifestyle, especially when coupled with a desk job is a recipe for low back pain.
Pregnancy: Up to 70 percent of women report low back pain, especially as they enter the later stages of their pregnancies. Part of this is because of a change in the center of gravity due to the weight of the baby. Changes in hormones also softens ligaments and loosens joint in the pelvic area, leading to low back pain.
Symptoms
Low back pain can be dull and achy, sharp and stabbing or cramping from muscle spasms. Here are some additional symptoms Chicago residents should look for:
Worsening pain depending on activity: For some people, bending and lifting can lead to excruciating low back pain. For others, it may be standing or walking. And for others still, low back pain may be felt when they sit.
Pain that radiates down the leg: Low back pain can manifest itself as a pain on either the front, side or back of the leg.
Inability to properly move parts of the feet: An inability to raise yourself onto our toes or to raise your big toe upward may be a sign of a low back condition.
Fever: If a low back pain is caused by a bacterial infection, it may be accompanied by fever.
Touch sensitivity: In addition to the sort of internal discomfort you may feel, low back pain also may result in a sensitivity to touch caused by inflammation.
Causes
Among the causes of low back pain are:
Nerve pressure: According to Neurosurgery Today, 90 percent of low back pain is caused by a pinched nerve in the spine. Many conditions, such as herniated discs; spondylolisthesis, a condition in which vertebra slide directly over one another; and spinal stenosis, or narrowing of the spinal canal as one gets older, can lead to low back pain.
Fractures: Whether caused by an injury like falling or from breakage as the result of a condition like osteoporosis, these can cause low back pain.
Spinal irregularities: Conditions, such as scoliosis, a curvature of the spine, or kyphosis, a condition that can lead a slouching posture, can cause low back pain.
Arthritis: In its many forms, including osteoarthritis or ankylosing spondylitis, which affects the spine, this is a leading cause of low back pain.
Bacterial infection: Low back pain can be caused by infection located in the bone, the discs or the spinal cord.
Tumors: Growths on bones or ligaments, the spinal cord or nerve roots can result in low back pain.
Treatment
Though low back pain sometimes can resolve itself in as little as 72 hours with self-care, using analgesics or other over-the-counter pain relievers; ice and heat therapies; and bed rest, there are many times it can’t. Some low back pain may require steroid injections, spinal cord stimulation or percutaneous lumbar discectomy.
Whatever the cause of your low back pain, Advanced Spine & Pain Specialists of Chicago can help you identify and treat it. Call 773-717-0890 to make an appointment today.
