In the old days,the cure used to be to put a person on bed rest for a few weeks, or suggest operating on the back. Unfortunately, while doctors meant well, these suggestions were the worst possible ways to treat the severe lower back pain. The muscles atrophy and the body loses mobility. Now, there are different recommendations to treat lower back pain, whether severe or moderate.

Treatments Better Than Surgery

First of all, when the back begins to hurt it is wise to apply a cold compress to the back. This can reduce pain and inflammation, and help maintain mobility in the back. An easy way to do this is to use a bag of ice or frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel. This ice can be applied several times during the first day, for up to twenty minutes at a time. After a couple of days of cold treatment, heat can be used, like with a rice sack or heating pad. This treatment can relax the muscles and increase the flow of blood to the injured area, promoting healing. A warm bath can also be soothing.

Many people find relief of moderate to severe lower back pain by visiting a chiropractor. A chiropractor is trained in the ways to adjust the body and manipulate the spine to fix misalignments that can lead to lower back pain.

Bed rest can be used, but not alone and not for extended periods. In studies, it has been found that continuing activities without bed rest after back pain can help the back maintain flexibility. Also, it was found that bed rest alone could make the lower back pain more severe and lead to other complications (like blood clots in legs, depression and loss of muscle tone). It is much better to get back to regular activities as soon as possible. At night or while resting, lie on one side with a pillow between the knees, or on the back with a pillow under the knees.

Exercise! Particularly before it becomes severe lower back pain. Exercise will strengthen the back and abdominal muscles, and that is the key. Generally doctors recommend stretching exercises, walking and swimming. Yoga can also help by stretching the muscles and strengthening the body. Usually, a bit of exercise is a great lower back pain treatment, but if the pain increases, stop exercising and consult your medical practitioner.

Medicines are often heavily relied on to treat severe lower back pain. Sometimes, the medical practitioner will recommend a combination of over-the-counter and prescription drugs. Be sure to check with your doctor to know that they are safe for you.

Common Drugs To Combat Severe Lower Back Pain

Analgesics (like aspirin or ibuprofen), are taken orally, and help reduce inflammation. Counter-irritants (applied as a spray or cream) stimulate the nerve endings on the skin to feel warm or cold, and dull the pain. Topical analgesics can also reduce inflammation and help with blood flow. Antidepressants can be used to dull the pain and elevate the person’s mood.

Opioids – like codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone and morphine – should only be used for the most severe lower back pain, and only for a short amount of time, while under a doctor’s care. These have many side effects, making this less ideal for treating back pain than some other options.

The lower back has bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles and disks. There can be problems with any of these things. And in some people, no certain cause is ever found. In those cases, relief is freedom from pain.

The First S – Strains

The most common reason for lower back pain symptoms is damage caused by heavy lifting, a sudden movement that jerked the back a certain, awkward, way or strained muscles or ligaments. A muscle spasm can also give one lower back pain symptoms.

The Second S – Structural Issues

There are some structural things that can cause lower back pain symptoms. These include: sciatica, bulging or ruptured disks, osteoporosis and skeletal irregularities of the spine such as scoliosis, and arthritis.

Osteoporosis is a disease where the bones are brittle and porous. This can lead to compression fractures of the vertebrae, leading to more pain in the lower back. If the spine curves in a different way, it can cause lower back pain symptoms. One condition where the spine curves to the side is scoliosis. If the spine curves too much in any of its curves, it can cause back pain.

Sciatica is caused by a disk in the spine pressing on a main nerve that runs the length of the leg. It is felt as a sharp, shooting, pain, usually running through the buttock and down the leg. Sciatica can be felt as very severe lower back pain. Disks that are not performing the way they should can cause a lot of lower back pain symptoms. Disks in the spine are supposed to be the cushions between the vertebrae. If the disk bulges or ruptures it can push on a nerve and be very painful.

With arthritis, there can be many lower back pain symptoms if the person has spinal stenosis. This is caused by arthritis in the spine, narrowing the space for the spinal cord. Arthritis can also be in the hips, hands and knees. All of these conditions, once diagnosed, can be treated appropriately.

The Third S – Serious

There are a few rare yet serious conditions that can lead to lower back pain symptoms. If there is a tumor on the spine, it can push against a nerve and cause back pain. If there is an infection in the spine, one will have a fever and warmth in the area of the pain. Finally, there is a neurological problem that can affect the nerve roots for the legs and lower back. With this condition (cauda equine syndrome) there will be weakness in the legs, loss of bowel and/or bladder control, and numbness in the saddle or groin area.

Who Gets Lower Back Muscle Pain?

Almost everyone. Studies show that four out of five of us will have back pain at some time in our lives. Fortunately, for most the lower back pain symptoms are comparatively mild, and we can still function in our lives. But for a few, it is worse, almost debilitating.

What Are The Types Of Lower Back Muscle Pain?

There are two primary types of muscles injuries in the lower back that can causes pain, strains and sprains. The stretching or tearing of the actual muscle fibers causes a muscle strain. This type of injury is also called a pulled muscle. It can happen from not warming up the muscles before expecting hard work from them, because the muscle is too weak or because the muscle was already damaged and not allowed to heal thoroughly.

A sprain of the muscle happens when the ligaments, the fibrous tissue that connects bones to each other, are torn from where they attach. Generally, the ligaments are very tough, but sudden movement like twisting a certain way can sprain the ligaments.

Both types of injury are similar and both the symptoms and treatments are similar as well. Consequently, knowing exactly which type of injury you are dealing with isn’t important, just treat it. However, a muscle strain is far more likely than a sprain in the lower back.

Why Does It Hurt So Much?

Whenever there is damage to the muscles or ligaments, like being torn or stretched beyond capacity, there will be inflammation and swelling. Sometimes there are spasms also within the soft tissues. If the body is not allowed to rest, but instead the person continues with the activity, the injury is not allowed to heal and the pain will be aggravated. It is best to let the body rest at the first sign of lower back muscle pain.

Why Is The Back More Likely To Hurt During Pregnancy?

There are several reasons for increased lower back pain during pregnancy. First, the body produces hormones in different amounts than usual during pregnancy. One of the major hormones the body makes is called relaxin. Yes, it really is called that. It is the hormone that helps the ligaments and pelvic joints to ease up and allow the baby to get through the birth canal. But it doesn’t just relax things at the end of the pregnancy, but relaxes them throughout the pregnancy resulting in the funny waddle that pregnant women tend to do when they walk.

Also, with the uterus getting so much bigger, it changes the mother’s center of gravity. She has to be more careful when she exercises, even when walking, and get used to balancing differently. While she goes about her usual day, the ligaments holding her uterus are relaxing and pulling on her spine and muscles. These muscles are not designed to carry the extra weight of the uterus, so the spine and back muscles help with the weight. Hence, lower back pain during pregnancy! Getting moderate exercise while pregnant can help protect her from lower back muscle pain and make her more comfortable overall. Pelvic tilts, a standard exercise suggested during pregnancy, helps eliminate lower back pain, whether done while standing or while on all fours.

The mother can also avoid lower back pain while pregnant by having good posture. Obviously, having the bowling ball or watermelon out front changes her balance, but she can still stand up straight, with her shoulders back. It’s fine to have her uterus sticking out in front while she smiles and walks with pride!

If she already has a child or two, she must be extra vigilant about not picking them up using her back. She shouldn’t bend at where her waist used to be, but use her legs to lift herself down and back up instead. Same thing goes for when she picks things up off the floor (if she can’t get someone else to do it), she should squat to reach them and use her legs to get back up. This will preserve her back and protect her from lower back pain during pregnancy. This is also something she should try to do all her life since it will always go towards preventing back pain.

Types Of Lower Back And Hip Pain

There are three categories of lower back and hip pain depending on how long your pain lasts and how often you get it. If the pain lasts less than three months, it is acute back pain. Most back pain is this type. It is easy to deal with at home and no doctor’s care is needed. Get a few days of bed rest if you like, then back on your feet and work through the pain. Exercise will help, as can analgesics.

Some people have acute pain, but it comes back again, making it recurrent. While it is annoying and frustrating to have the pain return, if you treat it carefully as before, it should go away again, hopefully forever this time.

If the lower back and hip pain last longer than three months, and your back is painful most of the time, you have chronic back pain. It would be smart to talk to your primary care physician, or you can try an alternative method, such as chiropractic care or acupuncture. Be sure to go to a qualified professional, as you don’t want to exacerbate the problem!

One exception to the not longer than three months rule would be hip and lower back pain during pregnancy. Pregnant women can have backaches off and on throughout their pregnancy, primarily due to the growing uterus and straining ligaments. But once she had delivered her baby, the back pain should ease.

What Are The Likely Causes?

Several things can cause lower back and hip pain. By far, the most common cause is a muscle strain, but it can also be sciatica, an uneven pelvis or even one leg shorter than the other. You could have flat feet, or you could have very weak muscles that don’t do an adequate job of protecting your spine. There are also other things that can cause lower back and hip pain.

What Is Piriformis Syndrome?

Piriformis syndrome is an inflammation in the piriformis muscle. This muscle is found very deep within the buttock, and it is the muscle that helps our hips to rotate. If there is tightness in the hamstring, the piriformis can become inflamed and sore, even to the outside back section of the buttock. It can swell and put pressure and inflammation on the sciatic nerve too, causing sciatica. Sitting can also aggravate this situation.

To relieve the lower back and hip pain and swelling, it is wise to use ice (wrapped in a towel for twenty minutes, several times a day). Taking an anti-inflammatory medicine will also help, if you don’t mind taking a drug to ease matters. If touch is tolerable, massage the muscle deep into the tissues. Also strengthen and stretch out the hip area, using exercises targeting the hip, lower back and hamstring muscles.

Causes Of Lower Back Pain

As we get older, our bodies tend to lose their muscle elasticity and tone, as well as bone strength. The discs in our spine lose fluid and flexibility, and they don’t cushion the vertebrae as well anymore. Aging is one reason we get lower back pain.

If the muscles or ligaments in the back have a spasm, sprain or strain, the discs in the spine can rupture or bulge. That puts a lot of pressure on the nerves that are based in the spinal cord. When there is compression or irritation in those nerve roots, the back complains by giving us pain. What causes the back spasm, sprain or strain? Usually some form of trauma or injury, for example attempting to lift something too heavy, or overstretching.

Some life conditions can also contribute to lower back pain. These include smoking, obesity, pregnancy weight gain, poor physical condition, stress, poor posture and poor sleeping position. Oftentimes, lower back and hip pain go hand in hand. If the body has scar tissue from previous injuries, buildup in the area can, over time, weaken the back and contribute to more serious injuries.

Degenerative diseases like arthritis or osteoporosis can also cause lower back pain. Other potential factors are congenital abnormalities in the spine, viral infections and irritation to the joints and discs.

When To Worry About Lower Back Pain

If your lower back pain in accompanied by some other symptoms, it is time to take things more seriously and consult your primary care physician. The symptoms to watch out for include fever, pain while coughing, loss of bladder control or bowel control, progressive weakness in legs. These can indicate a pinched nerve or similar situation. If a person has diabetes, back pain can be related to neuropathy.

Avoiding Lower Back Pain

If you take proper care of your back in your day-to-day life, you can avoid lower back pain. If the back pain is recurring, there is a good chance it is from poor body mechanics. Be sure to have correct posture and to lift with your legs (instead of using your back), as well as strengthening your back with exercises. Be sure that your workplace follows healthy ergonomics, plan ahead by having furniture and tools and such to avoid injury, as this can protect the body from lower back pain.