Back pain, medically referred to as dorsalgia is basically a common painful condition of the spine and its associated structure.

To understand back pain let us first study the spine itself.

Anatomically, the spine or vertebral column is made up of a combination of 24 articulating bones and nine fused bones that form the lower end making up a total of 33 bones. It is divided into four regions: cervical or neck region, thoracic or upper back, lumber or lower back and pelvic region. The vertebral column houses the spinal cord which is the nervous connecting link between the body and the brain. Nerves radiate out from the spinal cord to all regions of the body and are responsible for sensory and motor functions. The intervertebral fluid filled disks that cushion the bones and provide lubrication are present in the bones of the spine. Responsible for the flexibility of spine is the articulating structure.

Back pain can result due to any injury or damage to the spinal column, tendons, the associated skeletal muscles, ligaments, spinal cord itself or the intervertebral disks. The most common form of back pain is lower back pain. Lower back pain occurs in the lumbar region and hence it is referred to as "lumbago".

The prevailing cause of lumbago is believed to be muscle strain. Improper posture, lifting heavy weights etc. results in pain of the lumbar region as it strains the soft tissues. Injury and pain requires corrective surgery as it may have resulted from disk tear or herniation and it is very painful. As people age the intervetebral disks shrink causing vertebral bones to grind against each other, such a condition leads to chronic pain.

In old age another cause of lower back pain is 'spondylolisthesis', it is the condition in which due to weakened ligaments and muscle tissue the vertebrae move to a greater extent . Another cause of lumbago in the elderly is arthritis.

Infection of the cartilage or bone cause swelling of the tissue surrounding the spinal cord, this exerts pressure on the spinal cord and results in pain. In such cases expert medical help should be immediately sought. Ruptured disks or inflammation which can be very painful can result from similar physical trauma.