Back Pain
Sometimes referred to as: chronic low back pain, back spasm, back strain, spinal stenosis, facet joint pain, degenerative disc disease, disc herniation, sciatica, sacroiliac joint pain, coccygeal pain, coccydynia
Interview between:
Nora Lansen, MD
Steven Winiarski, DO
Back pain is the most common reason people go to see their doctor. The universality of this ailment speaks to the variety of causes of low back pain. Although “back pain” is frequently used to refer to a single entity, it’s important to realize that the term describes a symptom rather than a particular disease.
Cases Per Year (US)
Costs associated with LBP in the United States (including direct cost and loss of wages and productivity) exceed $100 billion per year.
General Frequency
80% of the population will have at least one episode of low back pain in their lifetime.
Risk
25% of the population report back pain within the past 3 months.
Causes
What causes back pain?
Back pain is the most common reason people go to see their doctor. The universality of this ailment speaks to the variety of causes of low back pain. Although “back pain” is frequently used to refer to a single entity, it’s important to realize that the term describes a symptom rather than a particular disease. It is not possible, therefore, to point to a single cause.
When referring to back pain, some point to our sedentary lifestyle as a root cause, others to poor posture and poor core strength. The truth is, likely, a combination of evolution, anatomy, and behavior.
Scientists theorize that our upright anatomy and large head place added stress on our back, predisposing us to back pain. Moreover, the multiple different muscles, tendons, and joints that make up our back and give it strength and flexibility are also possible points of failure. To make things more complicated, pain from other areas in our bodies can be referred to the back, masking the real problem. This makes diagnosing and treating back pain extremely challenging.
Types
Diagnosis
Treatment
Prevention
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Nora Lansen, MD and Steven Winiarski, DO are both members of the Galileo Clinical Team. Connect with one of our physicians about Back Pain or any of the many other conditions we treat.
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