Lower Back Pain Treatment to Consider

The lumbar area is an intricate collection of muscles, ligaments around the spine, nerves, discs and tissues. There is no specific age for lower lumbar pain. Most persons will suffer from some sort of back pain during their life time. The back has the important function of proving structural support, movement and protection.

Every wonder what causes back pain in the first place? Listed below are some of the major culprits.

(1) Lumbar Strain: A ligament, tendon or muscle is over stretched causing pain. This type of pain occurs usually from overuse, improper use or trauma/ accident.
(2) Nerve Irritation: The nerves running through the lower lumbar can be irritated by mechanical impingement, disease and inflammation caused by viral infection.
(3) Bone and joint conditions: Lower lumbar pain is derived from congenital causes (from birth due to curvature of spine or abnormal architecture of the spine), degenerative of bone and joint due to age, injury (like fracture) and inflammation of the joints. In extreme cases lumber pain may occur due to a tumor.

Lower lumbar pain can either be acute or chronic. Pain lasting less than 3 months is considered acute, while pain lasting greater than 3 months is considered chronic. Lower lumbar pain treatments for acute cases are mostly self care methods. Stay active even though you have pain and take over the counter pain medicine. Staying in bed for prolonged periods may actually worsen your lower back pain. If you have concerns always consult your doctor or therapist as research has shown that understanding your lower back pain may actually help you cope better with the pain.

One of the best chronic lower back pain treatment consists of lumbar strengthening exercises. Walking is a simple, but effective exercise for the lower back. For lower lumbar pain there are simple core stability exercises to strengthen the back muscle. Exercises like aerobics, pelvic tilt and leg/ arm raises should become incorporated into your routine activities.

Prevention is the one of best options for treatment. Do not overstrain the lumber area with lifting heavy objects and use good posture to avoid aggravating the back muscle. If the acute lumbar pain persist you may consider trying spinal manipulation as a lower back pain treatment to increase range of motion. Chiropractors, osteopathic doctors or physical therapists are trained to perform spinal manipulation. Other forms of treatment for chronic lumbar pain are acupuncture, therapeutic massage and in rare cases surgery may be required. As always check with your doctor if your lumbar pain persists.