Most low back pain originates from mechanical failures involving the discs, bones, vertebrae and joints composing the spine. Examples of strictly mechanical issues causing acute and chronic back pain are:
Sprains and Strains
Tearing or overstretching back ligaments produce sprains, while tears in muscles or tendons are called strains. Both happen when you lift or twist your back improperly, pick up something heavy, or exercise too vigorously.
Herniated Discs
When spongy pads of tissue called intervertebral discs are severely compressed, they bulge outward from between vertebrae and irritate sensitive spinal nerves, producing chronic low back pain.
Intervertebral Disc Degeneration
Intervertebral disc degeneration occurs when discs weaken, thin out, and lose their ability to prevent vertebrae from scraping against each other. Often disc degeneration is attributed to the aging process.
Sciatica
Your sciatic nerve extends from the buttocks down the back of your leg. Compression of this nerve produces painful, burning sensations in the lower back and shooting pain down into the leg. The primary cause of a pinched sciatic nerve is a herniated disc.
Radiculopathy
When the spinal nerve root is inflamed or compressed by an injury, your lower back often suffers from pain, numbness, and a tingling or burning sensation that can radiate to the legs, feet, and sometimes the shoulder. Reasons for the development of radiculopathy include herniated discs and spinal stenosis, and can occur in the upper or the lower extremities.
Spondylolisthesis
This lumbar condition occurs when lower spine vertebrae slip out of place and pinch nerves exiting the spinal column.
Chiropractic Treatments for Relief of Lower Back Pain
Chiropractors ease low back pain without medications or surgery by employing spinal manipulations and adjustments on patients suffering lumbar mechanical failures. By using their hands to exact specific movements across the low back area, chiropractors can ease the vertebrae back into the proper positions to minimize nerve compression while also reducing symptoms of bulging discs.