Common & Uncommon Causes of Back Pain

Category: Back Pain | Author: Stefano Sinicropi

Common and Uncommon Causes of Back Pain

Back pain is very common, and roughly 90 percent of the population will deal with some sort of back injury at some point in the life. But while spine pain is common, not all types of spine injuries are common. Today, we take a closer look at three common causes of back pain, and three not so common causes.

Common Causes Of Back Pain

When people walk or hobble into our office, oftentimes they are dealing with one of these three conditions:

  • Strains and Sprains – Strains, sprains and muscle tears are grouped into one type of spinal injury often referred to as a soft tissue injury. Minor and mild soft tissue injuries typically resolve on their own with rest, exercise and pain medications within a week or two, but serious tears may need to be surgically addressed.
  • Disc Injuries – Another common injury to the spine involves a problem with your intervertebral discs. As we age, our discs tend to lose a little height and that can leave them prone to shifting out of place. Discs can also bulge or herniate, which can compress nearby structures and destabilize the spine. Again, many disc issues can be resolved with conservative care, but there are surgical procedures for extreme cases.
  • Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction – The sacrum and ilium meet on the left and right side of your back at the sacroiliac joint, which are supported by strong ligaments. If your joints are too rigid or loose, pain can set in with movement. Physical therapy or a minimally invasive operation can help improve your sacroiliac joint function.

Uncommon Causes Of Spine Pain

Now let’s take a look at some of the less common reasons why someone walks into our office complaining of back pain.

  • Spinal Tumors – The prospect of being told that you have a spinal tumor may be scary, and although they are somewhat rare, we’ve vastly improved our surgical techniques in the past few decades. Regardless of whether or not the tumor is cancerous, if it is caught early enough, surgical removal offers fantastic results. If you’re dealing with back pain and you can’t pinpoint a cause, head into a doctor’s office, because the sooner it’s diagnosed, the better the treatment outcomes.
  • Spinal Infections – Bacterial or fungal infections of the spine are rare, but they still affect thousands of people every year. The can affect your spinal discs, the vertebrae, the spinal cord or your nerve roots. Like tumors, infections can cause a number of problems if the issue is ignored, so if your back pain occurs in conjunction with a fever, swelling or nausea, contact a back specialist right away.
  • Paget’s Disease – Paget’s Disease is another rare condition that can affect the spine. We go into the causes and treatment options for the condition in this blog post, but in short, the condition involves the abnormal remodeling of bones, and this can develop in the spine. Medications to keep the bone from incorrectly remodeling can help control the condition, but if it has deformed your spine, a corrective operation may be necessary.

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