Most low back pain is caused by muscle strain or a sprain. A strain is when your muscle fibers are stretched. A sprain is when your ligaments (bands of tissue that hold your bones together) are stretched or torn. If you have a sprain, you might have noticed a “pop” sound when you injured yourself.
Feeling a crunching or hearing a popping sound when bending or arching the back are signs that cartilage may have worn away and is not protecting the facet joints from friction. The medical term for this symptom is "crepitus."
Disc Herniation Symptoms
A disc herniation can also result from a condition known as degenerative disc disease. This condition affects many people as they age. Another symptom of a disc herniation will be a grinding or popping sound in the neck.
Deteriorated cartilage surrounding a spinal joint can cause popping, cracking, or grinding. Cartilage may wear down from overuse and/or age, causing the bones of the joint to rub together and produce a grinding sensation and a sound similar to a crack or pop.
If your back pain is unrelenting and not relieved by rest, you should immediately visit the closest emergency department. If the pain is accompanied by any of the following symptoms, you should also seek emergency care: Fever. Numbness.
“Red flags” include pain that lasts more than 6 weeks; pain in persons younger than 18 years or older than 50 years; pain that radiates below the knee; a history of major trauma; constitutional symptoms; atypical pain (eg, that which occurs at night or that is unrelenting); the presence of a severe or rapidly ...
If the pain lasts four weeks or longer. If the pain keeps getting worse as time goes by. If you are experiencing other symptoms, such as fever, major weight loss or weight gain, loss of function or weakness in extremities, bladder problems, etc.
Pain is often described as sharp or burning. Numbness or tingling. People who have a herniated disk often have radiating numbness or tingling in the body part served by the affected nerves. Weakness.
The lower back is most commonly affected by herniated discs. Some common symptoms of a herniated or slipped disc include: Pain that occurs on one side of the body. Sharp pain in one part of the leg, hip, or buttocks and numbness in other parts.
The pressure that a bulging disc applies to your nerves can cause your nerves to misfire, especially if the area develops a pinched nerve. You can experience tingling, numbness, acute and chronic pain, and even nerve damage if your condition is left untreated.
Grinding or popping sounds or sensations in the lower back. Muscle spasms (Which may originate from the back or lumbar paraspinal muscles) Headaches. The condition can cause irritability, fatigue, and sleep disturbances.
Radiating pain
Strained muscles cause localized pain (at the site of the injury), but the pain can sometimes radiate to your buttocks. However, if you find that your pain runs from your buttocks and down through your leg, you might be dealing with sciatica or even a herniated disc in your lumbar spine.
Pain that gets worse when you move. Muscle cramping or spasms (sudden uncontrollable muscle contractions) Decreased function and/or range of motion of the joint (difficulty walking, bending forward or sideways, or standing straight)
Back muscle strains typically heal with time, many within a few days, and most within 3 to 4 weeks. Most patients with mild or moderate lumbar strains make a full recovery and are free of symptoms within days, weeks, or possibly months.
The most common procedure used to treat a single herniated disk is microdiskectomy. The procedure is done through a small incision at the level of the disk herniation and often involves the use of a microscope.
There are four stages: (1) disc protrusion (2) prolapsed disc (3) disc extrusion (4) sequestered disc. Stages 1 and 2 are referred to as incomplete, where 3 and 4 are complete herniations.
Low-impact exercises, such as walking, swimming, and cycling, may be safe and beneficial for people with a herniated disc, as they can help to improve overall fitness and strengthen the muscles that support the spine.
If the herniated disc is not pressing on a nerve, the patient may experience a low backache or no pain at all. If it is pressing on a nerve, there may be pain, numbness or weakness in the area of the body to which the nerve travels.
How bad the pain is depends on how much of the disc is pressing on the nerve. In most people with herniated discs, the pain spreads over the buttocks and goes down the back of one thigh and into the calf. Some people have pain in both legs. Some people's legs or feet feel numb or tingly.
It's painful if it presses on nerves. It usually gets better slowly with rest, gentle exercise and painkillers.
Immediate action required: Call 999 or go to A&E if:
You have back pain and: pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. numbness or tingling around your genitals or buttocks. difficulty peeing.
Acute (short-term) back pain lasts a few days to a few weeks. It usually resolves on its own within a few days with self-care and there is no long-term loss of function. Chronic back pain is pain that continues for 12 weeks or longer, even after an initial injury or underlying cause of back pain has been treated.
In general, osteoarthritis (the most common type of arthritis) and degenerative disk disease (the natural wear and tear of spinal disks) are the underlying cause of many types of chronic lower back pain. However, lower back pain can also be caused by accident-related trauma and acute stress.