Back Pain Has An Origin
Sciatica and lower back pain are one of the most common types of pain. In fact, 31 million Americans experience low-back pain at any given time. Low back pain is the single leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the Global Burden of Disease 2010. Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work. (17)
Chronic low back pain has a strong societal impact. According to the US Burden of Disease Collaborators, lower back pain accounts for the largest number of years lived with a disability in the US population in 1990, and also in 2010. (16)
Health expenditures for adults with spinal problems had been progressively increasing from the 1990s to 2000s, and were estimated at roughly $8000 per person in 2015, with the total cost of $132 billion. (17)
The prevalence of chronic low back pain in US adults aged 20–69 years old is 13.1%. This percentage increases with age, with the highest likelihood in the 5th and 6th decades of life. Prevalence is 2.6% higher in women. Caucasians had approximately 1.5 times the odds of reporting chronic low back pain than African Americans and Hispanics (p = 0.0001). Adults with low back pain were less likely to achieve a college degree than those without. After adjustment for age, race, gender, and education level, participants with low back pain had higher odds of unemployment and an annual household income less than <$20 000 per year. 12.8% of US adults with back pain received income from disability, compared with 4.6% of those without. (Citation)
Chronic low back pain has a strong societal impact. According to the US Burden of Disease Collaborators, lower back pain accounts for the largest number of years lived with a disability in the US population in 1990, and also in 2010. (16)
Health expenditures for adults with spinal problems had been progressively increasing from the 1990s to 2000s, and were estimated at roughly $8000 per person in 2015, with the total cost of $132 billion. (17)
The prevalence of chronic low back pain in US adults aged 20–69 years old is 13.1%. This percentage increases with age, with the highest likelihood in the 5th and 6th decades of life. Prevalence is 2.6% higher in women. Caucasians had approximately 1.5 times the odds of reporting chronic low back pain than African Americans and Hispanics (p = 0.0001). Adults with low back pain were less likely to achieve a college degree than those without. After adjustment for age, race, gender, and education level, participants with low back pain had higher odds of unemployment and an annual household income less than <$20 000 per year. 12.8% of US adults with back pain received income from disability, compared with 4.6% of those without. (Citation)
Most sciatic issues can be traced back to an accident or a repetitive motion that created a change in how your lower back and hips interact.
According to research, a person's genetic structure accounts for only 5% of back pain cases.(Citation) Habits and our environment play a much bigger role than heredity. It doesn't take much to start a pattern of dysfunction that, if untreated, only gets worse with time. A fall on your tailbone off a bike or out of a tree are common causes. Pain and sciatic symptoms can be traced to skeletal and muscular imbalances. These imbalances cause the bones to shift and apply pressure to spinal discs and nerves in KEY places as they travel out from your spine to your extremities. In the case of sciatica, it is almost always isolated to one leg or another. The lower back is the transition point between the upper and lower body, which makes it very susceptible to strain and injury. |
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Any time an activity is performed with the arms or the legs, the lower back is involved. The lower back muscles are part of the core torso muscles that tighten in order to attach the arm or leg and move the limb. The lower back is also involved in any weight-bearing activity. If your back is not supported, the lower back is being challenged, even if you're sitting.
The pelvis is constantly changing position. Other joints have a limited range of motion and their movement is simple. In the lower back, the rib cage and pelvis are constantly changing in relationship to each other. This change is sometimes severe, as pictured on the left. The elevation of the pelvis results in the tightening of ALL of the muscles on the right side causing a curvature of the spine.
The lower back and glutes are close to each other and play a supportive role in movement of the torso. The line separating the lower back and the gluteal region is the pelvic rim. Most people refer to this as their hips. Pain above or below this line, has distinct causes and equally unique solutions.
The pelvis is constantly changing position. Other joints have a limited range of motion and their movement is simple. In the lower back, the rib cage and pelvis are constantly changing in relationship to each other. This change is sometimes severe, as pictured on the left. The elevation of the pelvis results in the tightening of ALL of the muscles on the right side causing a curvature of the spine.
The lower back and glutes are close to each other and play a supportive role in movement of the torso. The line separating the lower back and the gluteal region is the pelvic rim. Most people refer to this as their hips. Pain above or below this line, has distinct causes and equally unique solutions.
Symptoms of an irritated nerve at the 3rd-4th Lumbar vertebrae.
- Pain, tingling or numbness in the front or anterior of the lower leg and foot
- The inability to bring the foot upwards (heel walk).
- Limited flexing of the knee.
- Pain, numbness and tingling in the front of the thigh, and possibly the front of the knee, shin, and foot.
- If the intervertebral disc becomes herniated it may result in contact between the disc and the nerve and cause extreme inflammation and pain.
- Vertebral facet joints become enlarged, narrowing the open spaces of the spine and compressing spinal nerve roots resulting in pain extending from the point of compression and anywhere else along the sciatic nerve.
- Intervertebral discs can degenerate, changing the motion of the vertebrae and resulting in stiffness, tingling and pain in the leg.
The human body receives all of its innervation from the spinal cord as shown on the right.
Take a few minutes and read the parts of the body serviced by each vertebral area. Once you understand this relationship, it will make more sense to think of how the strong torso muscles pull and twist this flexible column in different directions, resulting in predictable tension, irritation and pain. Most back pain involves poor posture in the upper body and corresponding dysfunction in the larger lumbar vertebrae. (Citation) |
Activity at the L5-S1 vertebrae level.
The lower the vertebrae, the larger its diameter and the more weight it will hold. The more weight a vertebrae supports, the more potential for injury. The lowest of the lumbar spine's five vertebrae (called L5) can slip forward over the first vertebra of the sacrum (called S1) and compress the nerve root. There is a nerve that passes from the spinal canal through an opening in the back of the L5-S1 segment and runs down the back of each leg. This nerve is called the L5 nerve root. It can lead to leg pain (sciatica) if any structure presses against it or if the highly inflammatory proteins from the inner portion of the disc leak out and touch the nerve. With that understanding of the nerves involved, here are the symptoms at this level.
Symptoms of an irritated nerve at this level.
- Pain, tingling, or weakness in the Glute, down the outside of the thigh, the calf, the sole of the foot and toes.
- Weakness in the ankle (called foot drop), pain and numbness at the top of the foot, particularly the big toe and second toe.
- Pain and/or numbness to the lateral, or outside, of the foot.
- Loss of function of the gastrocnemius (calf) muscle, affecting your ability to jump and also raise your heel off the ground.
- A tilted/rotated hip causing dysfunction to various organs which receive their neural impulse from the spinal cord.
How does it start?
It all begins with the spine. When the spine has an altered curvature, problems begin. Bad posture will inevitably lead to chronic pain and disability, regardless of what caused the original posture problem. Spinal dysfunction can occur from genetics, accident, injury or developed from repetitive bad habits. It causes weakness in certain muscles and tightness in others.
Restoring correct posture is the #1 goal of the Sciatic Relief System. Poor posture can cause foot, ankle and knee pain. It will result in a tilted/rotated hip causing dysfunction to various organs which receive their neural impulse from the spinal cord. The colored circles in the picture on the left indicate areas likely to deteriorate first, resulting in specific pain and dysfunction.
To restore proper alignment some muscles need to be strengthened. Others need to be stretched and loosened. In addition, bad postural habits need to be identified and changed. |