Surprising Reasons For Low Back Pain

Lower back pain is something that many of us suffer from. Annare Loubser, a physical therapist with Franciscan Health, talks about lower back pain and some of the surprising reasons why people may be suffering. 

How Often Is Lower Back Pain Actually A Back Issue?

“It most likely is because of the work we do and the postures we're in on a daily basis,” Loubser said.

A large portion of Americans have low back pain. Often these cases are caused by a problem in the spine or muscles, such as:

• Muscle or ligament strains or sprains
• Herniated discs
• Spinal stenosis
• Osteoarthritis
• Spondylolisthesis

But not every case of back pain stems from those causes, Loubser said.“There are a few patients that come in where the back pain is from other reasons, or it can be caused by a stiff hip, osteoporosis or some other medical condition that physical therapists, when you see us, will rule it out,” she said.

What Are The Common Causes of Lower Back Pain? 

Some other causes of lower back pain include:

• A very stiff hip joint
• Ovarian cyst
• Cyst in the uterus
• Osteoporosis
• Low vitamin B12
• Low vitamin D
• Kidney stones
• Kidney infections
• Bladder infections

“So, there's many different reasons,” Loubser said. “We will ask you lots of questions when you come to therapy to find out what's causing your back pain.”

How Can You Get Relief From Low Back Pain?

Relief depends on what caused the back pain.

“The first thing we'll always ask is, ‘What did you do when the pain started?’” Loubser said. “Because if, for example, you were lifting something heavy and you felt something pop in your back and you felt the pain go down your leg right away, the first thing that you should do then is try to lay on your stomach and maybe lay on your elbows for a little bit.”  

Loubser said, in that case, that you want to do the opposite position of the position you were in that caused the pain at that time. She said that the worst thing you can do at that time, which you see it on a lot of social media, is to stretch the hamstring.

“If you do have a bulging or herniated disc, at that point, that'll actually aggravate your symptoms because it's straining the nerve over that bulge,” she explained

When Should You Reach Out To A Medical Professional For Back Pain? 

“I feel like personally that this is best to reach out as quick as possible to prevent you from getting complications,” said Loubser. “Because many times by the time the patient comes to physical therapy, they have already done so many things that just aggravated the symptoms.”

Steps you might take in the interim include:

• Use ice.
• Take over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medicines
• Keep your spine straight as possible.
• Bend from your knees.
• Try not to flex too much if you don't have to until you can get to the physician or the physical therapist.

In Indiana, you can go to the physical therapist right away for 42 calendar days without a doctor's order.

“You really want to do the right thing at that point to prevent you from exacerbating your symptoms,” Loubser said. “Say for example, you are a patient that you didn't know that you had osteoporosis, you bent forward, you had excruciating pain, you might have a compression fracture, and you don't know that. That's something you come into physical therapy for.”

How Do Physical Therapists Help With Lower Back Pain?

“First, we do the full assessment and determine what we find is causing the problem,” said Loubser. “We also take in your history.

“If it’s musculoskeletal, physical therapy can help you, but if it's something systemic or chemical, we’ll refer you back to your primary care physician with a recommendation that, ‘We suspect it might be osteoporosis. Would you please evaluate further?’ or something like that,” she said.

“We do a lot of exercises specific to your condition, depending on what we determine your condition is. Whether it needs to be stretches, whether it needs to be core strengthening or stabilization exercises,” said Loubser. “Because you might also have an instability in your spine that will benefit from stabilization exercises.”

If the back pain is caused by trigger points, those can be treated with trigger point release techniques, or dry needling.

“We have different machines we use, but something that works really good that we use a lot nowadays is dry needling and then a lot of stretching and stabilization exercises for the spine,” she said.

Lower back pain isn't always as straightforward as it seems. Listen to your body and, when in doubt, seek professional help. Early intervention from a doctor or physical therapist can not only identify the true cause of your pain but also prevent complications and provide effective, targeted treatment. Don't let misconceptions or self-medication prolong your suffering – understanding the root cause is the first step toward lasting relief.