Major Causes Of Lower Back Injuries

Major causes of lower back injuries are degenerative changes, spinal disc problems, and spondylolisthesis. Degenerative changes occur when wear and tear causes bone spurs to press on the nerve tissue causing pain. It also causes the nerve canals to become narrow due to thickening of the bones causing stenosis. According to the following article, spinal disc problems are related to the fluid bursting out in between the spinal discs causing pressure on the root of the nerve. Ageing causes the spinal discs to become thinner; therefore, reducing the shock absorbing capacity causing pain. Spondylolisthesis is associated with the stretching of nerve tissues causing back pain.

Major Causes Of Lower Back Injuries

The most common causes of low back issues are injury or overuse of muscles and ligaments

Have you ever wondered what is happening in your back to make it hurt like crazy? The causes of chronic back pain can be categorized into three general categories: degenerative changes, spinal disc problems and spondylolisthesis.

Degenerative Changes

Simple wear and tear, or degenerative arthritis, is often the culprit of chronic back pain. Wear and tear can often cause the formation of bone spurs that can press on nerve tissue causing pain. In other cases, degeneration causes bone to thicken – when this happens in the canals that carry your nerves or spinal cord it can lead to pain. This narrowing of the nerve canals is also called “stenosis”. Degenerative changes can also affect the mobility of the facet joints on the back side of your spine. The facet joints are where most of your spinal range of motion occurs. Injuries from sports or car accidents accelerate degeneration in your back or neck.

Spinal Disc Problems

The shock absorbing pads between the bones of your spine are called “discs”. The construction of spinal discs can be compared to a jelly donut. They are softer in the center and harder on the outside. Sometimes the soft jelly center can explode out from the center of the disc to the outside of the disc (just like when you bite into a jelly donut). This is called a “disc herniation” and will often cause pressure to be applied to the spinal cord or nerve roots the lie just behind your spinal discs. Also, as we age our spinal discs can become compressed and thinner, not giving us the same shock absorbing capability they once did. Disc thinning can also narrow the canals that your nerve tissues lay within causing pain.

Spondylolisthesis
First of all, don’t worry about pronouncing this word properly! Second of all, spondylolisthesis is a fancy word that means one bone in your spine has slipped forward in comparison to the one above or below it. This problem can stretch the nerve tissue of your spinal cord or nerve roots that run behind these spinal vertebrae. This can cause pain in your back as well as down one or both legs. Interestingly, babies who learn to walk too early (9 months old or earlier) often develop this issue later in life.

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Getting older does not come alone, as the old saying goes. Degenerative changes, spinal disc problems, and spondylolisthesis are some of the major causes of lower back injuries. Degenerative changes can cause changes to the spinal bones and development of bone spurs due to wear and tear causing the nerve canals to become narrow leading to back pain. Spinal disc problems are related to the bulging out of the inter-disc fluid to the outer core causing pressure on nerve roots leading to back pain. Spondylolisthesis is caused by stretching the nerve tissues causing back pain, which runs down to the legs.

In this video Dr. Woolner of Bosie Chiropractic Group shares the most common causes behind low back pain.