Lower Back Pain Treatment In Burnaby

Low Back Strains And Sprains

Lower Back Pain Causes

There can be many different reasons you are having low back pain or lumbago. Here are some of the more common injuries:

1. Low back muscles strain

When you overload your muscles and tendons, this can lead straining your lower back. This can happen either over a long period of time due to repetitive movements, or suddenly such as falling or lifting improperly. As your muscles and tendons get overworked, this leads to inflammation and tearing of those tissues causing soreness and pain. With a strained back, you might find it hard to bend over, pick things up from the floor or to put on your socks

2. Back sprain

Similar to a low back strain, a sprain typically relates more to the joints in your back such as your facet joints. Much like a strain, a low back sprain can also happen due to overuse or poor lifting mechanics. Your facet joints help guide and direct the movement of your spine. When you sprain your back, you may have trouble standing up straight, getting up from sitting or trouble walking

3. Herniated disc

Your discs are the soft, squishy structures that are sandwiched between each vertebrae. They help your spine absorb movement and shock. Injuring your disc can happen in many ways. These include poor posture especially when lifting, degeneration in your spine as well as overload over time

When you injure your disc, symptoms can show up differently depending on how your disc is injured:

• Sometimes you will have trouble sitting and bending
• other times you may have more trouble walking and straightening up
• Often, a disc problem will also result in symptoms into your legs such as numbness and tingling

When people think of discs, a common phrase is a “slipped disc”. Your disc does not actually slip out of place. Instead, it can break down or tear open and leak

4. Pinched nerve

All of your body’s nerves exit from your spine and travel to all the different parts of your body. This includes your lower back and your legs. There are several different ways your nerves can get pinched. For example:

• If you sprain or strain your back and there is enough inflammation, this extra fluid can put pressure on those nerves
• Another way is if you injure your disc and the disc bulges out. Either the disc bulge or related inflammation can again irritate your nerves
• If you have degeneration or arthritis in your lower back, this wearing down of joints and discs can also lead to your nerves being irritated or pinched

When you get a pinched nerve sciatica nerve pain, you may feel numbness, pain or burning down one of both of your legs. If it is severe, you may also have trouble with your bowel or bladder organ functions which would need surgery to correct

Lower Back Pain Relief

Low back pain and injury can affect your whole day. It can limit your ability to play sports, to work, even make it uncomfortable to sit. Fortunately, there is almost always a way to help you improve. A low back pain examination is usually the first step in finding out what the problem is, especially with chronic back pain.

Depending on the cause and type of injury, low back pain treatment can involve:

• Manual therapy or Joint adjustments: Your physiotherapists and chiropractors at Cedar North Burnaby Heights can help you improve the mechanics of you injured spine or joints
• Exercise rehab: Stretches for lower back pain to help with stiff areas, as well as other lower back pain exercises to strengthen weak areas. Correct any muscle imbalances and prevent relapses
• Ice: To relieve painful inflammation
• Heat: Helps with stiffness
• Mattress: The best mattress for back pain really depends on your favourite sleeping position. Generally, if you are a side sleeper, you may find a softer mattress more comfortable. For back sleepers, tends to be better. Sleeping on your stomach is rarely recommended
• Nutrition: Supplements can provide some back pain relief
• Other back pain remedies include posture and ergonomic advice
• Results will of course vary from person to person

Check out these tips on how to sit with better posture

Patient Stories