Three Kinds of Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain is normally classified into one of three categories:

1. Axial lower back pain – known as simple back pain
2. Radicular lower back pain – known as sciatica
3. Lower back pain with referred pain

Lower Back and Leg Pain – Sciatica

Your lower back and leg pain when standing is likely sciatica, or radicular lower back pain. Causes of lower back and leg pain when standing are usually the compression or pinching of a lower spinal nerve, especially the sciatic nerve.

The sciatic nerve runs from your spine, down the back of your thigh, down the back of your calf, and into your foot. As the nerve is compressed or pinched, you feel pain radiating from your lower back down into your leg. Sometimes, sciatica will cause greater pain in the leg than in the back. The patient hurries to a doctor, asking for causes of lower back and leg pain when standing.

The sciatic nerve compression may be caused by a herniated disk. It may also be caused by a narrowing of the passage through which the nerve travels the spine. This is more common in older people. If you have diabetes or nerve root injuries, these also may cause compression of the sciatic nerve.

Lower Back and Leg Pain Treatment

If you have lower back and leg pain when standing, try the following:

* Apply a heating pad to the painful area or areas.
* Alternate ice packs with the heat.
* Take an over-the-counter (OTC) medication to relieve the pain.
* Rest for a day or two.
* Try exercises for back pain to release compression.

CAUTION: You should call your family doctor if your lower back and leg pain continue beyond 2 or 3 weeks, or if you have any of these additional symptoms:

* Leg pain that extends below the knee
* Numbness in the legs or groin area
* Fever, nausea or vomiting, stomachache, weakness or sweating
* Inability to control bathroom functions

Lower back pain is, in the United States, one of the most common complaints related to the back. Approximately 80% of adults will experience lower back pain at some point in their lives.

Surprisingly, the intensity of the pain may well be unrelated to how much physical damage exists.

* On the one hand, you might have excruciating pain from a muscle spasm you got when you strained your back. Such pain might make it difficult for you to walk, or even stand.
* On the other hand, a large herniated disk, or a disk that is completely degenerated, might cause you no pain at all.

Lower Back Pain Symptom #1

Deep, aching, dull, or burning pain. This pain may be felt in your lower back and/or traveling down your legs. You may find it difficult or impossible to carry on regular daily activities. You may find it difficult or unbearable to work, even if your job requires no manual labor. This lower back pain symptom is usually descriptive of chronic back pain.

Lower Back Pain Symptom #2

Very sharp pain, or dull ache, usually felt deep in the lower part of your back. This pain may be more intense in one place. You may feel it more in your right side, or it may feel worse in your left side. It may be toward the center or in the lower part of the back. If yours is a very sharp pain, it can come or go, but it usually remains steady. This lower back pain symptom is likely to be acute back pain caused by an injury or trauma to the back. However, many times there is not apparent cause.

Lower Back Pain Symptom #3

Mechanical back pain is a third type of lower back pain symptom. The name conjures up images of a mechanical doll or robot, but the pain is real. Acute pain, this one is aggravated when you move. Coughing makes the pain worse. This lower back pain symptom is typical of a herniated disk or a stress fracture in the back.

In addition to the pain in your lower back, you might experience pain that radiates into your upper back, your pelvic or abdominal region, or into your hips and legs. Such a pain may consist of a tingling or burning sensation, a dull ache, or a sharper pain. The type of radiating pain could give your physician a clue as to the possible cause.

Lower back pain symptoms can be the result of injury to muscles, ligaments, and nerves. They may be a combination of factors. Sometimes, even a well-qualified health care provider will be unable to find the cause, but your lower back pain symptoms will still be very real.

Your lower back pain symptoms may consist of shooting pain, numbness or tingling down one or both legs, and even into the feet. Swelling or weakness in one leg will indicate a pinched or compressed nerve somewhere in the spinal area. Inability to flex your foot or raise your big toe as you normally would is another lower back pain symptom. Muscle spasms or stiffness in the back can be very uncomfortable and difficult to manage. Lower back pain symptoms may increase at night or during long periods of sitting.

Action to Take for Lower Back Pain Symptoms

The first step in treating your lower back pain symptom should be to contact a doctor to rule out certain causes for the pain. Your doctor may prescribe bed rest for a day or two. He or she may suggest physical therapy or prescription medication to help manage the pain until treatment begins to take effect.

On the other hand, if your lower back pain symptoms are not caused by a serious condition, your doctor may recommend heating pad application alternating with ice packs. You may be given a series of exercises to do at home, strengthening the back muscles.

Lower back pain symptoms can be uncomfortable enough to cause withdrawal from many activities that you enjoy. With consistent, careful treatment, however, you will soon relieve or even cure many of your lower back pain symptoms.

THREE KEYS

Three keys to lower back pain exercise are:

* begin slowly
* be consistent
* build habits

Your lower back pain exercise should begin slowly and gently. Back muscles damage quickly, rebuild slowly. Ensure muscles get the full benefit of your lower back pain exercise by beginning slowly.

Be consistent with your lower back pain exercise. Set aside time for careful exercise at least 3 times weekly. Then hold to your schedule. Lower back pain exercise needs to be consistent.

As your lower back pain exercise begins to strengthen your muscles, work to build “lower back pain exercise habits” into your life. Add aerobic activity such as cycling, swimming, or walking.

Proper Lower Back Pain Exercise

Before you begin lower back pain exercise, meet with your physician and discuss your exercise plan. Your doctor may teach you additional exercises. Once your doctor gives the word, you can begin lower back pain exercise at home.

Begin with Warm-up

Lower back pain exercise demands warm-up, so schedule at least five minutes at the start of your exercise period for that. Use some type of slow, rhythmic movement. Walking is a good warm-up for lower back pain exercise. Use an easy walking pace, inhaling and exhaling evenly and deeply.

Try these lower back pain exercises

1. Back, hip, and leg muscles. Stand with your back against a wall. Place your feet shoulder-width apart, your hands on your hips. Inhale and exhale deeply and evenly as you gently slide your back down the wall until your knees are at an angle of about 90 degrees. Count to five, and then gently and slowly slide back to your original position. Repeat five times. This will stretch and strengthen lower back, hip, and leg muscles.

2. Back and hip muscles #1. You may want a mat under you for this. Lying facedown on the floor, tighten the muscles in one leg and raise it from the floor. Hold the leg up while you count to ten, and then lower it slowly to the floor. Lift the other leg, count to 10, and lower it slowly to the floor. Repeat 5 times with each leg to give added strength to lower back muscles and the hip muscles that support them.

3. Back and hip muscles #2. Use a straight back kitchen or dining chair for this exercise. Stand behind the chair, holding the chair with both hands. Lift one leg up and back, keeping its knee straight. Return it slowly to position, and lift the other leg up and back in the same way. Repeat 5 times with each leg. This lower back pain exercise will strengthen hip muscles that support your back, as well as back muscles themselves.

Secret

Think “slow” and “gentle” for successful lower back pain exercise. Inhale before every repetition. Exhale during the action.

End with Cool-down

Lower back pain exercise times should always end with a cool down. Use gentle stretching and breathing exercises, relaxing your muscles.

This Is Your Pilot Speaking

Pilots and co-pilots often refer to severe back pain as an occupational hazard. Military pilots, especially those flying helicopters, are bothered by it regularly. Airplane flights with severe back pain are, in fact, an overwhelming problem for your pilot and co-pilot. While you have the luxury of getting up and moving around the cabin on a fairly frequent basis to relieve you back, your pilot and co-pilot spend most in-flight hours in their cockpit, experiencing increasingly severe back pain – especially in the lower back. Why is that? what causes such severe back pain in pilots?

* Prolonged sitting
* Ineffective seat padding
* Poor posture
* Constant vibration
* Stress – very high among pilots
* Use of navigational instruments, causing pilots to lean forward.

Passengers Also Experience Airplane Flights with Severe Back Pain

While pilots and other crew members develop severe back pain due to lengthy and frequent flights, passengers are not immune to the problem. They are not confined to a cockpit, but a number of factors contribute to severe back pain in passengers. Many are similar to those experienced by flight crew.

* Prolonged sitting – even though one may move about the cabin, it sometimes seems more trouble than it is worth to do so. There is always hope that no severe back pain will result.
* Poor posture – cramped quarters, especially in economy class, make it difficult to maintain both posture and comfort.
* Constant vibration – It is unclear how much vibrations influence flight back pain, but it is known that vibration can produce micro-trauma and disc damage in the back.
* Stress – even seasoned travelers experience a degree of stress during airplane flights. The lack of control over one’s environment is gone, and the body stresses until it returns to normal settings.

Dangers Involved

For the pilot, severe back pain can be distracting. He or she may compromise safety in an effort to deal with the pain. Concentration may be reduced, and flights delayed. Severe back pain can even lead to flight cancellations. Even young, otherwise healthy pilots, are susceptible to this problem. As a pilot gets older, the probability of suffering increases. Arthritis may become involved. Long flights may become impossible.

For passengers, severe back pain can greatly hinder activity once they reach their destinations. The stress and unnatural position assumed during the flight lead to fatigue. When that is coupled with the pain, it intensifies, creating even more severe back pain. If passengers have flown through several time zones, the effects will be more difficult to handle.

Treating Your Severe Back Pain

If you are a flight crew member, you should see your medical practitioner. You may need pain medication to provide immediate relief. Look into an ergonomic cushion to assist in better posture and provide support. Exercise between flights to loosen tired muscles.

If you are a passenger, seek the advice of a physician. Severe back pain can have causes other than those presented here. You will want to rule out underlying disease or injury. With your physician’s approval, exercise before and after flights. During flights, even if you’d rather not, get on your feet when permissible and walk around the plane. You may not be able to avoid the airplane flights, but you can avoid much of the severe back pain.

Lower back and hip pain can be excruciating, but it is not uncommon. Simple exercise such as running or jogging can unexpectedly cause lower back and hip pain. All it takes is a small twist as you step off a curb, or as a stone throws your balance to one side or another. Let’s look at some other things that might have caused your lower back and hip pain.

Lower Back and Hip Pain Caused by Exercise

Lower back and hip pain are most commonly caused by some form of exercise, or some condition associated with the exercise.

1. Running and jogging are often the cause, since you may tend to overexert when engaged in these exercises. Overexertion can strain the muscles, causing lower back and hip pain that is intense.

2. Inappropriate footwear can also cause lower back and hip pain. Running shoes must absorb shock from the feet hitting the ground. They must also support the feet and body. Prolonged running in improperly fitting, or poor quality running shoes can cause unnecessary back strain, leading to lower back and hip pain.

3. Leg inequality can be another source of your pain. Few of us have legs that are absolutely identical in length. If the inequality is too pronounced, the body will not be balanced. As the muscles in your back seek to maintain balance, strain on one side or the other can result in lower back and hip pain on that side.

4. Dancing can quickly lead to lower back and hip pain, especially when it is of a form that involves hip twisting.

5. Lack of proper warm-up often takes its toll in pain. Before participating in running, jogging, dancing, or any other exercise, the body must have opportunity to stretch muscles gently, warming them to the demands you want them to face. If warm-up is not sufficient, lower back and hip pain can result.

Lower Back and Hip Pain Caused by Arthritis

Those who suffer from arthritis commonly experience lower back and hip pain. The arthritis affects the joints, in particular, often making movement stiff and painful.

TIP: You should ask your physician about any lower back and hip pain. This information is for educational purposes only.