Lower back pain can stem from a variety of sources. Broadly speaking, the 3 main causes of back pain are day-to-day strain, injury, and chronic conditions or illnesses. For the overwhelming majority of individuals, back pain at some point is unavoidable. In the United States, approximately eighty percent of the population deals with back pain at some point or another.

Often the back pain experienced is non-specific lower back pain without any primary cause. One of the reasons for this is that going through day-to-day life individuals are bound to put a strain on the lower back, some do so more so than others whether through rigorous exercise or physical activity.

However, those who lead inactive lives face their own set of risks when it comes to lower back pain as poor posture from being hunched over an office desk all day, for instance, can create other problems. Another factor that influences who is more susceptible to suffering lower back pain from day-to-day life lie in genetics. People have different quantities of nociceptive fibers in their lower back which are sensitive receptors that indicate pain to the brain. Individuals with more nociceptive fibers will experience more pain than those without, all other factors being equal.

Injury is a common cause of lower back pain as well. This often comes from a distinct trauma like a collision, being struck or striking an object or person, or a swift jerking motion although there are many other ways to suffer an injury. Once more different lifestyles pose different risks, an individual who lives a more active life will likely be in more frequent situations where the risk of injury is present. Certain underlying conditions may also exacerbate the likelihood of suffering an injury.

There are many chronic illnesses and conditions that can cause lower back pain including disc tears, spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis, vertebral fractures, and scoliosis, among others. Lower back pain may be indicative of a more serious medical condition like a pinched nerve or diabetes.

Regardless of the severity of the symptoms, it is hard for an individual to make an accurate judgment on their own about the severity of their lower back pain. Injuries or conditions affecting the musculoskeletal system or lower back can quickly become very serious.

What an individual might think is a minor issue could worsen and become a degenerative condition. For this reason, seeking treatment and a professional medical diagnosis is always important. However, there are signs that can quickly inform a patient it is time to seek treatment including pain persisting over the course of weeks if pain continues to worsen and/or spread, and additional symptoms like fever, weakness, loss of bladder function, weight gain or weight loss among other warning signs.

Individuals can attempt to differentiate between muscle and disc pain based on the location and the feeling. The spinal disk is at the base of the lower back so centrally located pain in the lower back may indicate a slipped disk. Muscle pain will feel more akin to regular soreness while disc pain will be more intense, even debilitating.

However, a patient will never be sure of the nature or severity of the back pain without treatment from a lower back pain specialist. For those in Frisco, TX, the Pain Specialists of Frisco can assist patients with their lower back pain and help them live a healthier pain-free life. Contact us through the pages of our website so that we can help treat your lower back pain and help you get back to living life again. We serve patients from Frisco TX, Denton TX, Little Elm TX, Allen TX, The Colony TX, Prosper TX, McKinney TX, Celina TX, Plano TX, and the North Dallas Metro area.