Common Causes of Back Pain

Statistics Canada reports that four of five Canadian adults will experience at least one episode of back pain in their lifetime. The specific cause of their pain is unknown for 95 to 90% of people experiencing back pain. 

If you’re one of those Canadians who experiences back pain, a back pain clinic in Calgary may be able offer relief. To try and take some of the mystery of the source of your back pain, we’ll break down some of the most common causes of episodic and chronic back pain.

Muscle and ligament strains

The most frequent cause of episodic lower back pain is a torn, pulled, or strained back muscle or ligament. Muscle strains that cause back pain can be caused by single incidents or repetitive motions. Minor as a strain or sprain may sound, the back pain that results can be severe although usually not long-lasting. 

Sprain versus Strain?

The words strain and sprain are often used interchangeably, but they do have different — albeit related — meanings. A strain is when your muscle is stretched so far that the muscle itself is torn. An injury is referred to as a sprain  when the over-stretched and torn muscle affects the ligaments that connect one bone to another. 

What causes back strains and sprains?

Here are four very common examples of things that can cause sprains or strains that can cause significant back pain:

• Twisting your spine while lifting, or even just lifting a heavy object
• Prolonged poor posture
• Injuries resulting from twisting or forceful impacts, such as in motor vehicle accidents and sports
• Falls and other sudden movements that put excessive stress onto your back

Pain that persists for more than three months is referred to as chronic pain. Strains and sprains do not usually cause chronic back pain, which is more often caused by an irritated nerve, disc issue, or joint problem.

What causes chronic back pain? 

Lumbar herniated discs

When a disc in your back is herniated, the jelly-like substance at its center has broken through the disc’s wall. The release of that substance and the damage to the disc wall can cause inflammation, nerve compression, and severe pain. 

Degenerative disc disease

As we age, the hydration contained in our intervertebral discs is lost and those discs wear down. As the discs are worn down, force is transferred to the disc wall where it can cause tears, weakness, and pain. 

Facet joint dysfunction

Chronic back pain is sometimes caused by dysfunction of the facet joints behind the lumbar spine’s discs. Within each joint, there is cartilage between the bones and a capsular ligament rich with nerves. 

Sacroiliac dysfunction

Your upper body connects to your lower body where your sacrum (at the bottom of your spine) meets your pelvis at the sacroiliac joint. The sacroiliac joint absorbs the tension between the upper and lower parts of your body. An inflamed sacroiliac joint, or one that remains too static, can cause pain. 

Spinal stenosis

Your spinal canal is filled with nerves. The roots of those nerves exit the spinal canal through hollows between each vertebra. Spinal stenosis is a condition where the spinal canal becomes at one or more levels of your lower back. 

Spondylolisthesis

Spondylolisthesis is a condition where one vertebra slips over a neighbouring vertebra. It can be the result of an injury to the pars, or a degenerative condition. Spondylolisthesis causes back pain as the result of instability, and leg pain as a result of nerve compression. 

Osteoarthritis

Spinal osteoarthritis is a gradual and progressive condition related to age and the accumulation of wear and tear on the body’s discs and facet joints. 

Deformity

An atypical curvature of the spine — scoliosis or kyphosis, for example — can result in lower back pain by contributing to deterioration of the discs, facet joints, or sacroiliac joints, or by contributing to a narrowing of the spinal canal (stenosis).

Injury

Injuries sustained in motor vehicle accidents, falls, and sporting incidents can cause dislocations and fractures of elements of the spine that can cause lower back pain.

Compression fractures

Compression fractures cause sudden back pain. They are a condition where the bone collapses onto itself. Compression fractures are most commonly experienced by the elderly, and are often attributable to weakened bones and conditions like osteoporosis. 

If you are affected by back pain — chronic or otherwise — a chiropractor in Calgary can help you in several ways. They may be able to identify the causes of your pain and underlying medical issues, help develop preventative strategies, and treat your pain and any related limitations.