Poor body mechanics cause chronic lower back pain

Wake Forest Baptist Medical CenterOct 7 2014

If you want to steer clear of lower back pain, remember this: Arch is good, flat is bad.

Back pain is anything but rare; only headaches and colds are more common. According to the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, Americans spend more than $50 billion each year on lower back pain, which is the No. 1 cause of job-related disability in the country and one of the leading contributors to missed time from work.

There's acute lower back pain, sometimes intense but generally short-lived discomfort resulting from injury to the lower back incurred during sustained physical activity (playing sports, doing yard work) or by a sudden jolt (being in a vehicle collision).
But it's chronic lower back pain, the kind that lasts for more than three months, that is more debilitating and more difficult to treat.

Much of that chronic pain is caused by damage to the discs - the spongy, multi-function structures that lie between the spine's vertebrae - in the lower part of the back right above the pelvis known as the lumbar region. And much of that damage is caused by poor body mechanics - the way people stand, walk, lift, carry, reach, bend, sit and sleep - in which the back is too often flat, not arched.

"The key to avoiding lower back pain is keeping pressure off your lower lumbar discs," said Tadhg O'Gara, M.D., an orthopaedic surgeon at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. "That means keeping an arch to your lower back."

The intervertebral discs, essentially the spine's shock absorbers, are under constant pressure, especially in the lower back, which supports the weight of the upper body. The five vertebrae in the lumbar region are naturally arched toward the front of the body, so bending forward compresses the front of these disks, which over time can force them out of position to press on one or more of the nerves emanating from the spinal cord. This condition - known as a bulging, herniated or ruptured disc - can cause pain in the lower back and elsewhere, especially the buttocks, thighs and even below the knee (sciatica). And that pain can be severe.

"People who haven't had lower back pain don't realize how painful it is," O'Gara said. "And many health care providers don't realize how painful it is."

So how is chronic lower back pain treated?

"The first thing to figure out is what exactly is causing the pain, because that determines what approach to take with treatment," said Kristopher Karvelas, M.D., assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Wake Forest Baptist. "That's not always easy. Pain is usually related to the discs, but other causes of low back pain have overlapping symptoms and pain patterns."

Basic diagnostic methods include physical examination, review of the patient's medical history and patient descriptions of the onset, location, severity and duration of the pain and of any limitations in movement. Imaging techniques such as X-rays, MRI and CT scans also can be employed to pinpoint the source of pain.

Once the reason behind the pain is determined, the most frequently prescribed treatment is physical therapy, not surgery.

"I typically reserve surgery for patients who have a medical need other than pain," Karvelas said. "There's a large toolbox that we can go to for patients, and surgery is the last tool."

Depending on the individual patient's condition, physical therapy programs usually include exercises designed to strengthen back and abdominal muscles and to promote proper posture and balance. These can include stretching, swimming, walking and even yoga. But education also is a key element.

"Patients need to recognize that posture and activity are crucial in relieving and preventing back pain," Karvelas said. "They need to learn what exercises to do on their own and how to do them properly to prevent future flare-ups.

"We can help resolve acute back pain episodes, but when we are talking about chronic back pain, the pain may never resolve completely. However, we do use a team approach to treat patients and teach people how to cope with their pain effectively."