Back pain is most commonly caused by muscle, connective tissue and bone structures. Sometimes internal organ problems can also manifest as back pain. Correct identification of the cause of back pain is essential for appropriate treatment.
Table of Contents
1- Posture Disorder
Sedentary lifestyle and long incorrect posture to sit with can lead to back and neck pain. Muscles erode and weaken, making it difficult to keep the spine in its normal alignment. A hump occurs when the head and shoulders slide forward. In this case, more stress is placed on the vertebral bones, discs, muscles, ligaments and other soft tissues. Leaning on the same side while driving, at the computer or while studying can also cause asymmetrical changes in the back and cause pain. To prevent problems due to poor posture, take your shoulders back slightly and sit upright while sitting. While standing, try to keep your back as straight as possible.
2- Wrong or Incorrect Movements
Lifting a heavy object with an incorrect posture or simply carelessly leaning or lying to one side can put a lot of stress on the back spine, especially in a person who is not exercising. Lifting or holding a heavy object overhead, reaching out to the right or left instead of centering the weight and loading asymmetrically can cause shoulder and back injury. Carrying a heavy backpack or hanging the backpack on one side instead of both shoulders can cause back pain.
3- Overuse
Activities that put more strain on the back than usual, such as helping to move house or painting the ceiling, can cause muscle strains, ligament injuries, and back inflammation.
4- Myofascial Pain Syndrome
Myofascial pain syndrome , which is a problem that affects the muscles and the connective tissue around them , is the cause of painful muscle spasms, popularly known as gripes. It is a chronic, long-term problem. It can be triggered by excessive contraction of the muscles, repeating the same movements, cold or stress. It is useful in the treatment of local injections, exercises, physical therapy, manual therapy methods.
5- Accidents and Traumas
Traffic accidents, falling from a height, sports injuries can cause bone, disc, muscle, ligament, nerve or other tissue damage and cause back pain with the effect of direct blow to the back. Although most of the time the person remembers the trauma and it is known that the cause of the pain is trauma, examination and examination may be required to understand exactly which tissue is damaged and to what extent.
6- Back Hernia
Although back hernias are frequently noticed in MRI (marrow imaging), they often do not cause back pain or any other complaint. Natural wear and damage to the spine and discs depending on age, in other words, spinal calcification and hernias show the most symptoms in the waist and neck. Sometimes the back hernia can be large, alone or it can be a source of pain due to compression on the spinal cord and nerve roots.
7- Compression Fracture – Bone Resorption
Compression fractures are most commonly caused by osteoporosis. In osteoporosis, minerals such as calcium, which should be in the structure of the bones, are missing, the durability of the bone decreases and it becomes brittle. As a result, it becomes unable to carry the load it should carry and fractures may occur. In the back, this situation manifests itself as a compression fracture (compression fracture). In general, the anterior part of the vertebral bones collapses more, a wedge-shaped appearance occurs when you look at the film. This is the cause of the hump on the back and shortening of stature, which occurs in osteoporosis. Compression fractures are sometimes painless, sometimes when they first occur, they can cause pain due to edema and inflammation.
8- Joint Rheumatism
Rheumatic conditions such as calcification (osteoarthritis), rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthropathy (ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis-related rheumatism, etc.) can cause back pain. In the case of calcification, thorny protrusions form on the bones and this can lead to nerve compression.
9- Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia , also known as soft tissue rheumatism or muscle rheumatism, causes widespread, long-term pain and fatigue in the body. Back complaints are also common in fibromyalgia.
10- Structural Disorder of the Spine
If the structural problems of the spine such as scoliosis and Schuermann hump are advanced, they can cause painful muscle spasms and strain the joints and discs.
11- Infection
Infections such as spinal abscesses (spinal epidural abscess), disc inflammation (spondylodiscitis) can cause back pain. Microbes such as brucella and tuberculosis can settle on the spine and cause inflammation. Infection-related pain is usually accompanied by general symptoms such as fever, fatigue, loss of appetite.
12- Tumor – Cancer
Benign or malignant tumors arising directly from structures such as bone, spinal cord, spinal cord or connective tissue can cause back pain. In addition, back pain may occur with the spread (metastasis) of cancer in another location (for example, lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, etc.).
13- Gallstones and Bile Tract Problems
Gallstones and biliary tract inflammation can cause pain in the back between the shoulder blades or towards the back of the right shoulder.
14- Gastric Reflux, Ulcer
Stomach reflux and ulcer may feel like pain or burning in the back.
15- Heart Problems
Heart pain due to narrowing of the heart vessels called angina may spread to the back.