Lower back pain (sciatica, herniated disk): causes, symptoms, treatment.

How can we define Lower back Pain

back pain is most commonly felt in the lower back area but it can be experienced along the spine.
The lower back is the connect between the upper and lower body, it bears most of the body's weight.

Pain in the lower back area can be caused by an irritation or problem with the:

• tendons and muscles
•  nerves and nerve roots
•  joints and spinal discs found in the lower back area

Causes of Lower back pain

lower back pain can be dull or sharp and may be felt from a localized spot or over a broad area.
when the pain felt in the lower back area has no exact cause, it is called a specific low back pain.
it may suddenly occur after a strenuous activity that involves lifting, due to an abrupt movement, or gradually because of overuse as a result of repetitive movements.

symptomes of lower back pain

it can also be due to improper posture, overexertion, and also due to aging.
aspecific low back pain rarely radiates to the legs.

pain in the lower back may also originated from a damaged disc in the spine. a disc consists of a strong fibrous ring and a soft nucleus and functions as a shock absorber between two vertebral bodies of the spine.
when a disc becomes damaged, it may bulge or rupture.

when soft tissue from the nucleus prolapses through the rupture, it is called a disc herniation. herniated discs usually affect the lumbar spine causing low back pain and radiating pain in one or two legs. when the herniated disc compresses the sciatic nerve, the symptom experienced is called sciatica.

if the bulging disc is not compromising a nerve, backache may be mild.
 sciatica is the term used to describe the symptoms associated with radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve.
radiculopathy is a condition where in a nerve root that links to a nerve, in this case the sciatic nerve, is irritated, pressured or pinched.

the symptoms of sciatica include:
pain, tingling, and numbness or weakness that radiates along the lower back to the buttocks down to the back of the leg. even if nerve compression cannot be confirmed radiologically, we still talk about sciatica, due to the fact that pain radiates in the specific area of the sciatic nerve