Lumbago is derived from a Latin word…lumbus, which means loin pain. Of course all low back pains are referred to the loins.
♥ Do you know that several researches have shown, that once you reach 40 years, you start experiencing low back pain, which becomes more frequent, more persistent and more excruciating as we age. I said to myself comically, I hope that was not the mastermind of the idiom “a fool at forty is a fool forever”. That means if you have not achieved anything at 40, and the low back pain sets in you are forever doomed (just joking)
♥ Listen, from the outset let us understand one thing. There are 2 types of low back pain, 1) the traumatic low back pain….which can occur at any age, to a baby or a-90-year-old. And 2) Physiological low back pain which begins to manifest at 40 and may be aggravated by rheumatoid atrophy, osteoporosis and bone degenerative diseases.
♥ So I do not mean a low back pain resulting from a previous vehicular accidents, trauma, blunt injury, lifting of heavy objects, although this write-up will discuss and provide treatment for those. I mean low back pain that could not be easily explained, the one my Cousin in Abuja had, which usually results after a little manual labour that involves stooping, or bending over. That leaves you rattled, confused, incapacitated, in painful agony without any appreciable relief, no matter what you do or take.
♥ Please it is not all doom and gloom, when we reach 40. Do you know that some people could pass through life without experiencing physiological low back pain, they can only suffer traumatic low back pain. Just as some will never be hypertensive or diabetic(a topic for another day). Now let us educate ourselves a little on low back pain.
♥ You know I wanted to zero in on arthritis this week. Almost everybody, one way or the other, has arthritis, and it is this arhritis that results mostly in low back pain. Do you know the funny aspect, I asked the first 10 men that consulted me last week, which to discuss first, arthritis or low back pain, only one dissented. The rest said low back pack. With one saying jocularly, “doc why do you think I am carrying this walking-stick, when I am not an Eze”.
What actually causes low back pain?
1. Over strain to the muscles in the lower back.
2. Damage to the ligaments supporting the spine.
3. Or damage to the small vertebral joint disc. Contrary to popular opinion, discs that are located between the vertebrae and act as shock-absorbers, do not slip. Rather, they contain a gelatinous-core, surrounded by a fibrous ring, and with age or injury, the ring ruptures, enabling the gel to spill out and press on the nerves radiating from the spinal cord. This causes pain in varying severity.
Who are those at risk of low back pain?
1) Low back pain affects 75% of people at sometime or another.
2) There is a double risk for people in jobs involving lifting, carrying or bending, e.g farmers, labourers or car mechanics.
3) Sportsmen and women who enjoy contact sports are at increased risk of low back pain.
4) About 1% of the population suffers, the so-called slipped disc each year, most of them aged between 25 and 45.
5) There is only a 10% risk of low back pain being a symptom of serious underlying disease.
How do we recognise low back pain? This is easy;
a) Pain often seems to radiate down the leg (sciatica).
b) You may experience tingling sensation.
c) Or numbness of the affected parts.
d) It may not be possible for you to stand straight or erect without a support.
e) If you have a numb buttock, tell your doctor – this can be a symptom that the nerves at the base of your spine are being squashed, and you need immediate investigation.
How do we diagnose low back pain?
1) Doctors test for the degree of restriction in your movement with a variety of physical, stretching and bending tests.
2) Doctors would test your reflexes, by tapping your knees and ankles, and running a fine point up and down the soles of your feet, This enables them to judge whether there is pressure on the nerves in your legs, if so, where it is.
3) More sophisticated but less frequently used investigations include; a) Computed Tomographic Scan – CT Scan. b) Magnetic Resonance Imaging – MRI. These show the structure of the back in greater details than x-rays.
Next week we shall discuss the management of low back pain, and what to do for those who complained that it has affected their sexual functions. Meanwhile –
Follow me on Twitter; @_DRSUN.

Related News