All You Should Know About Lower Back Ache

Q1.What Are The Causes Of Lower Backache?

Our spine is made up of multiple vertebral bodies which are separated by intervertebral disc and are joined together as one unit by various joints, ligaments, and muscles to provide weight-bearing for body and provide movement for bending and twisting. Any pathology involving dysfunction of these structure like infection, trauma, tumor, prolapsed disc, and degenerative change can lead to backache this pregnancy, osteoporosis, pelvic inflammatory diseases and infection of the kidney and urinary bladder can cause backache.

Q2. What Is Sciatica And Neurogenic Claudication?

Sciatica is sharp, shooting pain origination in the back that travels down through the buttocks in the legs. Sciatica usually affects only one side and is mainly due to prolapsed intervertebral disc. Neurogenic claudication it is pain and numbness in legs after walking some distance and there is no pain at rest. As time passes pain use to appear at a shorter distance. It is mainly because of the narrowing of the spinal canal due to soft tissue or joint hypertrophy.

Q3.What Are The Risk Factors?

Lack of exercise and bad posture are two most important reason for backache besides this sudden lifting of heavyweight, osteoporosis and smoking are risk factors.

Q4.What To Do When Someone Has A Lower Backache?

• The patient should try to consult a doctor urgently if:
• Pain not relieved by rest or pain radiating to legs,
• Any motor weakness of the lower limb.
• Any Symptom Suggestive of bladder bowel involvement
• Numbness around the perianal area
• Recent injury or trauma to your back
• Persistent fever or swelling

Q5. What Are The Investigations Required?

• X-ray LS spine is a basic investigation and tells about any gross fracture, osteophyte and listless (flexion-extension X-ray).
• MRI is needed to know details of soft tissue like ligamentumflavum, intervertebral disc prolapse of vertebra and pressure over the roots.
• CT spine for detail bony anatomy particularly in cases of fracture.

Q6.What Is The Treatment?

Most of the cases respond to a short course of analgesics, Muscle relaxant, drugs for neuropathic pain and physiotherapy, some require the injection of local anesthetic agent and steroid in the spine(root block and facet block) and some cases require surgery in form of discectomy, laminectomy pedicle screw fixation or spinal card stimulator. All treatment modalities are available at Metro Hospital Faridabad which can be performed by a minimally invasive technique by a small incision.

Q7. How We Can Reduce The Backache?

By proper exercised, posture, avoiding sudden jerks to spine, weight reduction, sleeping incorrect posture, quit smoking and vitamin D3 and calcium supplement we can reduce the risk of backache.