What are the top causes of lower back pain? There are quite a few of them and it’s important you know about them so you can ease that pain you’ve been struggling with. If left untreated, lower back pain can radiate throughout other parts of the body. Lower back pain can also be a symptom of another disease.
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Here are the 10 common causes of lower back pain
Overweight or obesity
People who are overweight or obese feel more pressure throughout their body including their muscles, joints, and disks because of the extra weight. That extra pressure then puts a lot of strain throughout your body resulting in pain and soreness. The back, pelvis, and knees are vulnerable to extra tension because of excess weight. That would then result to lower back pain.
Inactiveness or a sedentary lifestyle
People who aren’t active much and spend most of their time sitting down or lying down are very much likely to experience lower back pain. Without much movement, your back muscles get tighter, weaker, sore, and deconditioned. This is a bigger issue for professionals who sit for 7 to 8 hours a day.
Herniated disk
Herniated disk also known as a slipped disk is a common symptom of joint and disk degeneration. A herniated disk occurs when a disk or a fragment of the disk nucleus is pushed out of the annulus. This can affect any part of the spine but mostly occurs throughout the lower back. So, if you are feeling any pain in your lower back, this might be the cause. It is best to get an x-ray and seek professional help.
Scoliosis
According to a report by Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center, Scoliosis affects around 6 to 9 million people in the US. Scoliosis, as described by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, “is an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine” that can result in pain in the back.
Injury
Another common cause for lower back pain is simply an injury that involves your back. After experiencing an injury, it is best to assess yourself to make sure everything is ok and then follow that up with a visit to the doctor.
Too much weightlifting
Majority of weightlifting exercises include people lifting heavy stuff using different parts of the body including your lower back. Too much lifting might result in a lot of tension that would then lead to soreness or pain throughout your lower back. Don’t overdo it when working out.
Overstretching
Just like with too much weightlifting, your lower back pain might be caused by overstretching either early in the morning or before working out. Don’t overstretch because you might end up tearing muscles.
Wrong form when exercising
When working out or exercising, it is important to execute each movement using the right form. The wrong form might result in injury in your lower back and other parts of the body.
Kidney stones or kidney pain
Your kidney is located on the back side of your body. That is why sometimes, kidney pain can be mistaken as lower back pain. There are times that kidney pain mostly brought by kidney stones result of lower back pain.
Unhealthy lifestyle
In many cases, an individual’s lifestyle is one of the main causes of lower back pain. An unhealthy lifestyle involves unhealthy eating, inactivity, smoking, alcohol consumption, poor quality of sleep, and stress. All of these combined together or even just a few of them can result in the body deteriorating resulting in pain and at times, even diseases.
How to combat the common causes of lower back pain?
The first step in battling common causes of lower back pain is awareness. You must know by learning more about the causes and that’s when you do something about it. Ease your lower back pain by being more active, doing yoga, eating a healthy diet, visiting the doctor regularly, and just improving your general lifestyle.
