Low Back Pain

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

Back to Top