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Causes

By Mayo Clinic staff

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Back pain often develops without a specific cause that your doctor can identify with a test or imaging study. Conditions commonly linked to back pain include:

  • Muscle or ligament strain. Repeated heavy lifting or a sudden awkward movement may strain back muscles and spinal ligaments. If you're in poor physical condition, constant strain on your back may cause painful muscle spasms.
  • Bulging or ruptured disks. Disks act as cushions between the individual bones (vertebrae) in your spine. Sometimes, the soft material inside a disk may bulge out of place or rupture and press on a nerve. The presence of a bulging or ruptured disk on an X-ray doesn't automatically equal back pain, though. Disk disease is often found incidentally; many people who don't have back pain turn out to have bulging or ruptured disks when they undergo spine X-rays for some other reason.
  • Arthritis. Osteoarthritis can affect the lower back. In some cases, arthritis in the spine can lead to a narrowing of the space around the spinal cord, a condition called spinal stenosis.
  • Skeletal irregularities. Back pain can occur if your spine curves in an abnormal way. Scoliosis, a condition in which your spine curves to the side, also may lead to back pain, but generally only if the scoliosis is quite severe.
  • Osteoporosis. Compression fractures of your spine's vertebrae can occur if your bones become porous and brittle.
Risk factors Symptoms
References
  1. Adult acute and subacute low back pain. Bloomington, Minn.:Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement. http://www.icsi.org/low_back_pain/adult_low_back_pain__8.html. Accessed July 10, 2012.
  2. Balague F, et al. Non-specific low back pain. The Lancet. 2012;379:482.
  3. Wheeler SG, et al. Approach to the diagnosis and evaluation of low back pain in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed July 14, 2012.
  4. Low back pain fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/backpain/detail_backpain.htm. Accessed July 15, 2012.
  5. Duffy RL. Low back pain: An approach to diagnosis and management. Primary Care: Clinics Office Practice. 2010;37:729.
  6. Devereaux M. Low back pain. Medical Clinics of North America. 2009;93:477.
  7. Hoy D, et al. The epidemiology of low back pain. Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology. 2010;24:769.
  8. Jensen JN, et al. The greatest risk for low-back pain among newly educated female health care workers; body weight or physical work load? BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. 2012;13:87.
  9. Coenen P, et al. Cumulative low back load at work as a risk factor of low back pain: A prospective cohort study. Journal of Occupation Rehabilitation. In press. Accessed July 15, 2012.
  10. Pepijn DDM Roelofs, et al. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for low back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD000396.pub3/abstract. Accessed July 15, 2012.
  11. Knight CL, et al. Treatment of acute low back pain. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed July 14, 2012.
  12. Engers AJ, et al. Individual patient education for low back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004057.pub3/abstract. Accessed July 15, 2012.
  13. Hayden J, et al. Exercise therapy for treatment of non-specific low back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD000335.pub2/abstract.. Accessed July 15, 2012.
  14. Last A, et al. Chronic low back pain: Evaluation and management. American Family Physician. 2009;79:1067.
  15. Carneiro K, et al. The role of exercise and alternative treatments for low back pain. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America. 2010;21:777.
  16. Furlan AD, et al. Acupuncture and dry-needling for low back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. http://www.thecochranelibrary.com/view/0/index.html. Accessed July 15, 2012.
  17. Furland AD, et al. Massage for low-back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001929.pub2/abstract. Accessed July 15, 2012.
  18. Henschke N, et al. Behavioural treatment for chronic low-back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD002014.pub3/abstract. Accessed July 15, 2012.
  19. Tillbrook HE, et al. Yoga for chronic low back pain. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2011;155:569.
  20. Sherman KJ, et al. A randomized trial comparing yoga, stretching, and a self-care book for chronic low back pain. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2011;171:2019.
DS00171 Sept. 11, 2012

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