Lower Back Pain Causes - Helpful Information

Joints and bone conditions, lumbar strain, bony encroachment, lumbar radiculopathy, and nerve irritation are some of the common lower back pain causes. Read on if you want to know more about these lower back pain causes because this article reviews each of these causes.

1.Nerve Irritation

Nerve irritation is one of the common lower back pain causes. The lumbar spine nerves can easily be irritated by any disease anywhere along the nerves' paths, from the roots of the spinal cord to the surface skin. This condition causes radiculopathy or lumbar disc disease, nerve inflammation, and bony encroachment.

2. Lumbar Strain

A lumbar strain is also one of most common lower back pain causes. It is the stretching injury to the tendons, ligaments of low back muscles. The incidents of stretching often lead to varying degrees of microscopic tears in these tissues. The injury occurs because of improper use, overuse, or trauma. There are two types of lumbar strain: acute and chronic. Acute lumbar strain means the pain it cause has been present only for days to a few weeks while it is considered chronic of it lasts for longer than three months.

3. Bony Encroachment

Bony encroachment is experienced when the vertebrae located in the lumbar spine grows or move, causing the space of the nerves and spinal cords to be limited. Because of the extreme pain it causes, it is considered as one of the major lower back pain causes and is typically caused by foraminal narrowing, spinal stenosis, or spondylolisthesis, which are also the known causes of sciatica pain characterized by a radiating pain in the lower part of the body. Pain felt after walking is known as the spinal stenosis but this can be eased by resting. Different treatments for these conditions are available but the treatment plan is based on how severe or serious the condition is. The treatment plan may be as easy as taking a rest or as complicated as surgical decompression.

4. Lumbar Radiculopathy

Lumbar radiculopathy is one type of irritation in the nerves, often caused by damaged discs located along the vertebrae. This can be due to wear and tear of the discs' outer ring, traumatic injury, or combination of the two. As a result, the central portion may be damaged, thereby causing sciatica pain characterized by extreme pain in the legs.

5. Joint and Bone Conditions

Joint and bone conditions are also common lower back pain causes. These conditions include congenital injury, degenerative injury, or injuries caused by the inflammation of joints (arthritis). Congenital injuries or bone conditions include spina bifida and scoliosis. Degenerative joint and bone conditions result from the changes in our body's cartilage. One of the common degenerative joint and bone conditions is called spondylosis, or the narrowing of the normal space between the vertebrae. Other joint and bone conditions include fractures and arthritis.


The lower back pain causes mentioned and discussed above are just some of the many factors causing lower back pain. If you’ve been experiencing pain in your lower back, visit your physician right away so your doctor can devise an effective treatment plan for your lower back pain.