According to Mayo Clinic, most people experience low back pain at least once in their lives. A backache is one of the most common reasons for missing work and going to the doctor. Your back and spine are complex; they combine structural elements of your vertebrae with neurological components of your spinal cord. A backache can be the result of any number of things, including overuse, weak muscles, structural problems or disease. Back pain makes getting through your day very difficult and uncomfortable.
Overuse
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons notes muscle soreness in the back is frequently caused by over-activity. Muscles and ligaments become overstretched and injured from exercising too vigorously or for too long. Muscle spasms from overuse are quite painful. Heavy lifting sometimes causes backache.
Structural Problems
Structural problems, including bulging disks, sciatica, arthritis and skeletal irregularities, cause backaches. Your spine is made of many small bones, stacked upon one another in a long column connecting your neck to your pelvis. This creates a flexible column that allows you to bend and move in almost unlimited directions. Between each vertebra are disks, a rubbery substance that cushion the vertebra and protect the spinal column and nerves.
A slipped vertebra, or spondylolisthesis, occurs when one of the vertebral bones in your spine shifts forward on the vertebra directly beneath it. This causes the canal within your spinal column to narrow, creating less space for the nerves making up your spinal cord. Furthermore, the slipped disk may press on nerves and cause pain. Degenerative arthritis more commonly affects other joints like fingers and knees but can cause narrowing of the space around your spinal cord. You can also suffer a compression fracture of your vertebrae, in a condition known as osteoporosis.
Backaches in Children
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons states that a child with a backache is more likely to have a serious underlying disorder than an adult with back pain. Musculoskeletal strain is the most common reason for backache in children and adolescents. Persistent backache in teenagers is often due to weak hamstrings and abdominal muscles.
Scheuermann's kyphosis is a forward bend of the spine in adolescents, causing pain in the middle portion of the back. The curved part of the child's back will ache and the pain will often worsen with exercise. A child might also suffer diskitis which is an infection of a vertebral disk. Diskitis typically affects children between the ages of 1 and 5, although older children may experience this infection. Scoliosis, which is a sideways bend of the spine can also cause backache.
Stress Fracture
Spondylolysis, or stress fracture, causes lower back pain. Spondylolysis typically happens during physical activity. Stress fractures in children sometimes occur when the child is having a growth spurt or is engaged in sports that repeatedly twist the spine, such as gymnastics or football. Adults can also experience painful stress fracture.
