STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

Tell us about it

• What would you add to this story? Tell us what we missed.
• Do you have photos from this event? Documents we need to see? Share with us.
• Upload photos & videos
• More ways to get your stuff online and in the paper.

More Features

• History: An Everglades legend lost
• 30 Years Ago
• Eye On The Y: The holidays are here

Share and Enjoy [?]

Last week I wrote about common causes of back pain that are mainly preventable. This week I will explain more complicated conditions that cause a lot of discomfort and debilitation.

All contribute to the $55 billion per year that we spend for back pain and disability in the United States.

Sciatica: If you are one of the 40-percent of sciatica sufferers, you know misery. Pain is caused by compression of the sciatic nerve that extends out from the spinal cord at the lumbar and sacral areas. The two branches of this nerve are each as wide as a thumb and thread through the pelvis and deep into the tush. Next it’s down the hip and along the back of the thigh to the foot. Usually you experience sciatica on one side when the sciatic nerve has been pinched or stretched.

There’s a broad range of sciatica from mild tingling to intense immobilizing pain. Pain might be felt in one part of the hip or leg, with numbness in other parts. Prolonged sitting, standing or sudden movements can aggravate the situation.

Abnormal disc: Sometimes a herniated disc is the most likely cause of unrelenting sciatica. A disc, located in the lumbar area, becomes herniated when it ruptures or if the gel-like substance in the disc bulges outward. However, many people have protruding discs without accompanying back pain, but if this abnormality presses against the nerve, sciatic pain often occurs.

Spinal stenosis: The narrowing of the spinal canal is called spinal stenosis. It’s usually attributed to bone overgrowth, which plagues mainly the elderly who have degenerative osteoarthritis, but sometimes other problems such as infection or birth defects are the cause. Spinal stenosis pain can afflict both legs.

Osteoarthritis: If joint cartilage is damaged and destroyed, the result is often osteoarthritis, which causes the linked bones within the joint to develop abnormalities. If the disease lodges in the spine, it could impair disc cartilage or the spine’s moving joints. That’s distressing enough, but in addition, the nerves sometimes become pinched, exuding pain and often muscle weakness and numbness.

Rheumatoid arthritis is caused by inflammation in the joints. It can harm joints throughout the body, but seldom affects the lower back.

Diverse causes

Sometimes back pain results from problems in other organs — those usually close to the spine. This is called referred pain. Frequent conditions include chronic uterine and pelvic infections, ulcers, and kidney disease.

Bone spurs put pressure on the nerves and supply significant pain, stiffness, and backaches in many older people. The spurs are actually irregular overgrowths of bone on the spine that are produced to assist stabilizing a degenerative disc.

Leg differences can also trigger back pain. Since these inconsistencies create an uneven pelvis, the spine tilts a bit to compensate. Shoe orthodics often solve the problem unless the leg situation is an anatomical abnormality.

A trip to the doctor?

See your physician if you experience the following:

• Pain that continues after two days of rest;

• Weakness, tingling, or numbness down the leg, feet, toes, or unable to move toes;

• Back pain makes you feel ill;

• Loss of bladder or bowel control.

Next time: Back pain remedies and “back-conditioning exercises.”

---

Kay Sager is a certified fitness and aquatic specialist living at Port of the Islands. She is a personal trainer using land and water fitness and teaches swimming. She also has written articles for Physician and Sports Medicine among other publications. Kay can be reached by e-mail: kswimfit@aol.com.