Sometimes people wrongly think that certain physical ailments are only attributed to aging or only afflict older people. When it comes to back pain, they couldn’t be more wrong. While low back pain definitely afflicts the elderly and aging, it can also affect a healthy adult or even a teenager or child.

The back consists of many different parts. Down its centre is the spinal column, which holds the back in place and also protects the spinal cord and its adjoining nerves. The spine is made up of different types of vertebrae, each of which are separated by round cartilage pads called discs. There are also ligaments and tendons that hold the vertebrae in place and connect the muscles of the back to the spine. Vertebrae are divided up into parts such as the cervical, thoracic, lumbar and root or sacrum. The lumbar area of the back is where low back pain happens.

There are many causes for low back pain and most are dependent on the type of pain a person is feeling in their back. The length of time the pain continues is what determines whether back pain is acute or chronic. However terrible it may sound, back pain that lasts less than three months is considered acute or temporary. Chronic back pain lasts longer than three months.

Posture itself can affect the spine, but so can other things. Obesity, unusual weight gain during pregnancy, or a poorly maintained physical condition can also contribute to the causes of back pain. Losing weight and living a healthy life can help improve the back’s health a great deal.

There are other conditions that cause low back pain, and many of these include trauma to the back. Car accidents that jar the body and whip the torso around can hurt the back. So too can overstretching of the back or attempts to carry something too heavy. These types of trauma can make the discs in the spinal column bulge outward, as well as irritating the nerves involved in the back itself. Back trauma can also result in muscle irritation and bone lesions. On their own, these can be difficult to deal with but they may heal. Untreated, they can develop into much more severe conditions.

Sciatica can often be a result of untreated low back pain. This condition is caused when herniated or ruptured discs in the spine press down on the sciatic nerve that runs down the spinal column to the pelvis. People with sciatica experience shock like or burning pain in their back that shoots through the buttocks and down a leg, often traveling to below the knee.

Low back pain in general can reduce a person’s flexibility, making it nearly impossible for them to bend. The muscles ache with shooting or stabbing pains, and often a person is not able to stand up straight. Men and women are equally afflicted by back pain. In a single year, Americans will spend approximately fifty billion dollars in total on treating back pain. It is the most common cause of job related disability and missed work. Even teenagers can be afflicted by back pain when they carry heavy backpacks full of school supplies. While aging of course brings such ailments as osteoporosis and its symptom of back pain, this type of pain can be caused by gardening, housework, lifting something improperly or simply poor sleeping habits and posture.

Whether back pain is a result of trauma or just seems to happen, any kind of low back pain that persists longer than a few days should be treated by a doctor. Back pain that doesn’t heal on its own could become something more serious. Visit a doctor if you have any questions, to avoid an improper diagnosis of something more severe.