Low back pain (LBP); is a common disorder involving the muscles, nerves, and bones of the back.
It affects people of all ages, from children to the elderly
About 80 percent of adults experience low back pain at some point in their lifetimes in the developed world.
difficulty most often begins between 20 and 40 years of age, men and women are equally affected.
Low back pain is more common among people aged between 40 and 80 years, with the overall number of individuals affected expected to increase as the population ages and it is frequent reason for medical consultations.
classification
Low back pain may be classified by duration as acute
- acute pain (lasting less than 6 weeks)
- sub-chronic (6 to 12 weeks)
- chronic (more than 12 weeks).
The condition may be further classified by the underlying cause as either
- mechanical
- non-mechanical or
- referred pain.
The symptoms of low back pain usually improve within a few weeks from the time they start, with 40–90% of people completely better by six week
Signs and Symptoms
- loss of bowel or bladder control
- numbness, tingling, or weakness in one or both legs
- onset following trauma, such as a fall or a blow to the back
- intense, constant pain that gets worse at nigh
- presence of unexplained weight loss
- pain associated with a throbbing sensation in the abdomen
- presence of fever
Causes
-Sprains and strains
- Intervertebral disc degeneration
- Herniated or ruptured discs
- Radiculopathy (a condition caused by compression, inflammation and/or injury to a spinal nerve root).
- Sciatica ( a form of radiculopathy caused by compression of the sciatic nerve)
-Spondylolisthesis (a condition in which a vertebra of the lower spine slips out of place, pinching the nerves exiting the spinal column)
- A traumatic injury
- Spinal stenosis
- Skeletal irregularities include scoliosis
- Infections
-Tumors are a relatively rare cause of back pain
-Cauda equina syndrome
-Abdominal aortic aneurysms
-Kidney stones
-Inflammatory diseases of the joints
-Osteoporosis
-Endometriosis
-Fibromyalgia
Risk factors for developing low back pain
-Age; most commonly onset starts from 30 to 50
-Fitness level; mainly sedentary life
-Pregnancy
-Weight gain
-Genetics
-Occupational risk factors
-Mental health factors
-Backpack overload in children
NB: in the next episode i will write about pathophysiology,diagnosis,prevention of LBP