Understanding Extreme Lower Back Pain: Causes and Treatment Options
For many people, lower back pain is a temporary concern that may arise occasionally but doesn’t affect their day-to-day. However, if you’ve ever experienced excruciating lower back pain, you know that it can bring your day to a grinding halt. With extreme lower back pain, it’s difficult to do just about anything, and it can quickly become an urgent medical issue.
Understanding extreme lower back pain, including causes and treatment options, can help you move forward and receive the care you need. Read on for a complete guide to excruciating lower back pain and how to deal with it.
Causes of Excruciating Lower Back Pain
Possible causes of excruciating lower back pain include a severe back strain or sprain, vertebral fracture, ruptured disc, advanced spinal stenosis, and, though rare, cancer.
Pain from Severe Back Strains or Sprains
Strains and sprains are among the most prevalent soft tissue injuries. These injuries are usually mild and heal with a few weeks of at-home care. However, back sprains and strains can be severe enough to cause excruciating lower back pain.
Severe back strains and sprains can be triggered by playing sports, lifting a heavy object with poor posture, overusing the back, or exercising with poor posture. You can reduce your risk of developing these injuries by strengthening the back and core muscles, stretching the hamstrings, and prioritizing good form when you work out.
Regain your mobility with Premia Spine! Contact us now
Regain your mobility with Premia Spine!
David danced at his son’s wedding
Bonnie explains why TOPS surgery was the right decision for her
Wade is back to hiking
Scott speaks about going to surgery
Pain From Vertebral Fractures
The most common type of vertebral fractures are compression fractures from osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease that makes your bones more fragile, brittle, and prone to fractures. This can lead to small cracks, or fractures, in the vertebrae.
Pain from compression fractures is the most common in the lumbar spine, as this region bears the most weight. The pain is often described as sharp, stabbing, or knife-like. Compression fracture pain is usually severe and debilitating, requiring professional treatment for relief.
Pain From a Ruptured Disc
Your spine includes a cushion-like disc between each vertebra, which acts as a shock absorber and prevents damage to the spinal structures. When a spinal disc is ruptured, it means that the soft disc interior is protruding through a crack in the disc exterior. This may occur as the spinal discs become thinner and weaker with age, or from a sudden injury.
In either case, if the damaged disc compresses a spinal nerve, you may experience excruciating lower back pain and neurological symptoms, like numbness, tingling, and weakness.
Pain From Severe Spinal Stenosis
Spinal stenosis is a medical condition characterized by the abnormal narrowing of the spinal canal. Although it can result from genetic factors, spinal stenosis is most often caused by age-related tissue degeneration and spinal changes. Bone spurs, calcium deposits, thickened ligaments, and even damaged discs can all contribute to degenerative spinal stenosis.
Pain from spinal stenosis can vary from mild to severe and debilitating. Since this condition worsens over time, you may be able to prevent or slow its progression by receiving prompt treatment. With a combination of conservative therapies, like physical therapy and lifestyle changes, you may be able to avoid severe spinal stenosis pain.
Pain From Spinal Cancer
Spinal cancer is rare, as the lifetime risk of developing a malignant spinal tumor is under 1%. However, in patients with spinal tumors (whether benign or malignant), severe back pain is a possible symptom. The tumor can push against the spinal cord and adjacent nerves, causing pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness.
Since spinal tumors tend to grow over time, these symptoms may gradually worsen. Back pain from spinal tumors is often worse at night and when you lie down. Over time, you may also start to experience difficulty walking or balance issues.
What Can You Do for Unbearable Lower Back Pain?
For unbearable lower back pain, you can try resting, applying a heating pad or ice pack, gently stretching, taking over-the-counter pain medications, getting a massage, or undergoing acupuncture.
- Resting (by avoiding physical activity and any movements that hurt your back) can help reduce pain in the early stages of a lower back injury. Resting can help limit inflammation and prevent further damage to the affected tissue. However, note that for chronic lower back pain, prolonged bed rest can worsen your discomfort by causing muscle stiffness and weakness.
- Implementing heat therapy by using a heating pad or taking a warm bath can help calm back muscle spasms, reduce back muscle tension, and boost circulation to the back.
- Implementing cold therapy by applying an ice pack can help reduce inflammation and temporarily numb your lower back. Especially in the first few days after sustaining an acute back injury, cold therapy is a helpful tool to manage pain and swelling.
- Gentle stretches can help reduce severe lower back pain by easing muscle stiffness, improving your range of motion, and boosting circulation. Over time, gentle stretching can also improve your posture, which in turn reduces the impact on your spinal structures.
- Over-the-counter pain medications can offer temporary relief for unbearable lower back pain. NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are a common option that reduces inflammation, swelling, and pain. Acetaminophen is another prevalent pain medication that helps reduce pain but doesn’t affect inflammation.
- Keep in mind that pain medications offer only temporary pain relief and shouldn’t be used long-term unless advised by your physician.
- Massage therapy helps relax tight lower back muscles, improves blood flow to the back, and boosts mobility. It also stimulates the release of endorphins, a type of neurotransmitter with natural pain-relieving properties.
- Acupuncture is an alternative remedy rooted in ancient Chinese medicine. Similar to massage therapy, acupuncture stimulates the release of various pain-relieving neurotransmitters, including endorphins and serotonin. It also improves blood flow to the treatment area and is thought to enhance overall balance in the body.
How to Release a Locked Lower Back?
You can release a locked lower back with gentle stretches, including pelvic tilts, cat-cow stretch, and child’s pose.
- The pelvic tilt is a gentle lower back and core exercise.
- Lie on your back with bent knees.
- Engage your abdominal muscles to flatten your lower back against the floor and gently tilt your pelvis.
- Hold this position for ten seconds, release, and repeat.
- Cat-cow stretch is a yoga exercise that gently stretches and releases the lower back.
- Begin on your hands and knees.
- Inhale deeply to curve your lower back, dropping your stomach toward the floor and raising your head.
- Exhale deeply to arch your lower back, drawing your stomach up toward your spine and dropping your head toward the floor.
- Return to neutral and repeat.
- Child’s pose is a yoga pose that can help “unlock” a tight lower back.
- Sit on your knees with your knees slightly separated.
- Slowly walk your hands out in front of you, bringing your torso and forehead toward the floor.
- Remain in this position for several breaths.
How to Cure Unbearable Lower Back Pain
To cure unbearable lower back pain, you may need a combination of conservative therapies, like lifestyle modifications, physical therapy, and pain medications. If these remedies fail, back surgery may be necessary to fully resolve lower back pain.
Surgery is generally only recommended to cure unbearable lower back pain if non-surgical treatments don’t improve the condition within six to 12 months. If you’re struggling with excruciating lower back pain, contact a physician in your area to consider your treatment options.
