Why Do I Have Lower Back Pain?

Many patients have lower back pain due to some type of medical condition or injury but there are a lot of people who suffer from chronic lower back pain who never know the true cause of their pain. The first thing that you’ll need to know when discovering why you have pain in the lower back is that what you’re feeling is actually a symptom of something else.

It’s the result of some type of medical condition, illness or injury and not the actual source of the problem. Treating the symptom will only provide temporary relief if it provides any at all. Before you can be completely pain free, you’ll need to get to the source of the problem.

Injuries

One of the most common causes of lower back pain is injuries that can occur from accidents, sports or over-exertion. Many back injuries occur from work related accidents and car accidents. Injuries can cause a number of different problems that include but are not limited to muscle strains, bulged and degenerative discs, misalignment of the spine and pinched nerves.

If you believe you have injured your back, your doctor can run a series of test to determine if this is the case and if so, to what extend the damage is. Once the cause of the pain is known, treatment can begin. Your doctor may try a variety of treatments until he finds what works the best.

Diseases and Illnesses

Diseases and illnesses can also be the reason why you have chronic pain in the lower back. These include all types of conditions such as herniated disk, arthritis, abnormalities of bone and muscles along with a number of other disorders. Pregnancy can also cause lower back pain.

If injury is not the reason for your pain and you’re not pregnant, your health care provider will run tests to determine if you have any type of disease or any other medical condition that could be causing the pain. If all of the tests come back negative, then it’s possible that you’re suffering from stress related chronic pain.

Stress Related Pain

When everything else is ruled out, your lower back pain may be coming from a combination of repressed emotions and everyday stress. This type of pain is not “in your head” as many professionals used to believe. It’s very real and can be so painful that it disrupts your way of life.

Patients with stress related chronic lower back pain are often misdiagnosed so they never get relief from their pain. This is a shame because there are many ways to help relieve this pain that doesn’t require any type of medication or surgery. Understanding and accepting that you have stress related pain is the first step. Finding ways to deal with repressed emotions and to handle the stress you face everyday so you can eliminate it comes next.

In some cases, it takes time to locate the source of the pain because it’s a process of elimination so it’s important to exercise patience. When trying to learn the source of your lower back pain, full disclosure is the key. Provide your doctor with accurate, updated information and it will make the process go faster and easier.