Back pain affects most adults at some stage in their lives 

The low back, or lumbar area, serves a number of important functions for the human body. These functions include structural support, movement, and protection of certain body tissues.

When we stand, the lower back is functioning to hold most of the weight of the body. When we bend, extend or rotate at the waist, the lower back is involved in the movement. Therefore, injury to the lumbar structures important for weight bearing, such as the bony spine, muscles, tendons, and ligaments, often can be detected when the body is standing erect, or used in various movements.

Protecting the soft tissues of the nervous system and spinal cord as well as adjacent organs of the pelvis and abdomen is a critical function the lumbar spine and its adjacent muscles.
What are common causes of low back pain?
Common causes of low back pain include lumbar strain, nerve irritation, lumbar radiculopathy, bony encroachment, and conditions of the bone and joints. Each of these is reviewed below. (It should be remembered that it is not uncommon for doctors to be unable to make a precise diagnosis of the cause of low back pain.)

 
"Back pain so severe that I scream"

Low back pain is a common musculoskeletal disorder which affects the lumbar segment of the spine. It can be either acute , subacute or chronic in its clinical presentation. Typically, the symptoms of low back pain do show significant improvement within two to three months from its onset. In a significant number of individuals, low back pain tends to be recurrent in nature with a waxing and waning quality to it. In a small proportion of sufferers this condition can become chronic. Population studies show that back pain affects most adults at some stage in their life and accounts for more sick leave and disability than any other single medical condition.
An acute lower back injury may be caused by a traumatic event, like a car accident or a fall. It occurs suddenly and its victims will usually be able to pinpoint exactly when it happened. In acute cases, the structures damaged will more than likely be soft tissue like muscles , ligaments and tendons . With a serious accident or due to osteoporosis or other causes of weakened vertebral bones, vertebral fractures in the lumbar spine may also occur. At the lowest end of the spine, some patients may have tailbone pain (also called coccyx pain or coccydynia ). Others may have pain from their sacroiliac joint at the bottom of the lumbar spine, called sacroiliac joint dysfunction .
Chronic lower back pain usually has a more insidious onset, occurring over a long period of time. Physical causes may include osteoarthritis , rheumatoid arthritis , degeneration of the discs between the vertebrae , or a spinal disc herniation , a vertebral fracture (such as from osteoporosis ), or rarely, a tumor (including cancer ) or infection. The cause may also be psychological or emotional, and can be diagnosed as TMS or tension myositis syndrome or due to other non-anatomical factors.


Diagnosis
Diagnosing the underlying cause of low back pain is usually done by a medical doctor , osteopathic physican, physiotherapist (physical therapist) or by a chiropractor . Often, getting a diagnosis of the underlying cause of low back pain and/or related symptoms is quite complex. A complete diagnosis is usually made through a combination of a patient's medical history, physical examination, and, when necessary, diagnostic testing, such as an MRI scan or x-ray . There are a number of health care professionals who may specialize in diagnosing and treating low back pain, including chiropractors, osteopathic physicians, physical therapists (physiotherapists), physiatrists, anesthesiologists/pain medicine physicians, and orthopedic surgeons or neurosurgeons.
Treatments
The course of treatment for low back pain will usually be dictated by the clinical diagnosis of the underlying cause of the pain .
 

Conservative treatment

For the vast majority of patients, low back pain can be treated with non-surgical care. For those with acute, short-term back pain, a magnetic stimulation of the
back with the Bio Medici magnetic therapy device  may be effective. It relaxes the muscles around the spine and enhances blood circulation.


What are other causes of low back pain?
Other causes of low back pain include kidney problems, pregnancy, ovary problems, and tumours.

1. Kidney Problems

Kidney infections, stones, and traumatic bleeding of the kidney (haematoma) are frequently associated with low back pain. Diagnosis can involve urine analysis, sound wave tests, or radiological scanning of the abdomen.

2. Pregnancy

Pregnancy commonly leads to low back pain by mechanically stressing the lumbar spine (changing the normal lumbar curvature) and by the positioning of the baby inside of the abdomen. Additionally, the effects of the female hormone estrogen, and the ligament-loosening hormone relaxin, may contribute to loosening of the ligaments and structures of the back. Pelvic tilt exercises are often recommended for this pain. Women are also recommended to maintain physical conditioning during pregnancy according to their doctors' advice.

3. Ovary problems

Ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids and endometriosis not frequently cause low back pain.

4. Tumors

Low back pain can be caused by tumours, either benign or malignant, that originate in the bone of the spine or pelvis and spinal cord (primary tumours) and those which originate elsewhere and spread to these areas (metastasize). Symptoms range from localized pain to radiating severe pain and loss of nerve and muscle function (even incontinence of urine and stool) depending on whether or not the tumors affect the nervous tissue. Tumors of these areas are detected using radiological tests, such as plain x-rays, nuclear bone scanning, and CAT and MRI scanning.