Health Tip: Understanding Low Back Pain

Some common causes

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(HealthDay News) - Low back pain -- ranging from mild discomfort to debilitating agony -- plagues nearly everyone at some point. But even mild low back pain can interfere with your life and your work.

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The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons lists these common causes of low back pain:

• Lifting an object using the back, not the legs.
• Degenerative changes in the spine as people age.
• Straining the back during activity.
• An injury (tear or herniation) to a disc in the spine.
• Spondylolisthesis, a condition in which the vertebrae slip out of place and put pressure on nerves in the spine.
• Spinal stenosis, which occurs when the space around the spine narrows, resulting in pressure on nearby nerves and the spinal cord.
• Scoliosis, an abnormal curvature of the spine.

-- Diana Kohnle