Put down whatever you are doing right now and read closely if you would like to understand your back pain.

What is the the million dollar question the every Family Physician would like to know?

It is how to solve pain in the lower back because they are bombarded with back pain patients daily that they are just not sure what to do with. There is very good reason for this and it is because one of the most difficult diagnoses that any doctor has to make is one concerning pain in the lower back. Many physicians these days have given up entirely with back pain and will refer to practitioners such as chiropractors, physical therapists and massage therapists. There is even good evidence that accupuncture helps with back pain.

There are two sources that can cause patients to experience what we all would label as back pain. These two sources are known in the medical community as discogenic pain and nondiscogenic back pain. Discogenic pain means that the pain originates in the disc in the spine which is the soft pad between two vertebrae. Non discogenic pain means that the pain starts in other structures in the spine like the soft tissues surround the spine. These soft tissues may include the muscles around the spine, the ligaments that connect the bones in the spine and the tendons in the spine which connect the muscles to the bones.

The first category of back pain that was referred to above is known as discogenic back pain. This is the type of pain that is local to the back and does not travel down to the legs. This type of pain may be the result of faulty posture in a sitting or standing position or may be the result of an injury to the back. More often that not the person with nondiscogenic back pain will notice that a sharp pain is produced when bending backwards. This type of back pain is generally less serious and can be cleared up in a matter of 2-6 weeks.

The other form of back pain is known as discogenic back pain and demands immediate consultation with a physician or chiropractor. This is a much more invasive injury that if not taken care of properely can lead to severe and chronic pain because the discs in your spine heal very poorly due to a lack of blood supply.

This type of pain is often referred to as “Sciatica” because we have all been taught that when you have pain in your leg it is sciatica. This is true, but did you know that sciatica is most often caused by discogenic back pain? What happens is the discs in your spine get so inflammed that they put pressure on the nerves that travel out of your lower back and cause pain down one or both of the legs. So sciatica is really a disc problem in you lower back 9 times out of 10.

This type of pain should prompt you into the office of your physician or chiropractor because if left untreated can become a chronic problem that haunts you!

Learn more about sacramento back pain. Stop by Dr. Sandy A. Bell’s site where you can find out all about sacramento chiropractic and what it can do for you.