What Can Cause Sharp Lower Back Pain?

By Author: Pacific Medical Care
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Most people have experienced sharp lower back pain at some point. If you have experienced it too, you may have wondered what caused it and what you could have done to relieve it. And most of all, you may want to know when is back pain serious enough to seek medical attention.

Causes of Sharp Low Back Pain

Sharp lower back pain can be the result of a variety of things. The cause of your sharp low back pain will depend upon the location of the pain, whether you feel it in one place or if it moves around, and what movements make it worse and so on.

Sharp, piercing or knife-like lower back pain is usually associated with an acute mechanical problem in the spine. Such pain usually occurs when you try to move your back. While resting may relieve the pain temporarily, so could the use of a back brace.

The joints are naturally designed to dissipate any force they experience. If there’s a physical restriction, or if your joint is working less efficiently than usual, you may feel a pinching in that area.

Here is a look at the most common causes of sharp lower back pain.

Muscle Strain
...
... Sharp lower back pain is usually due to a muscle strain.

Facet Joint Pain
Facet joints are located at the back of the spine. They help to keep the spine stable and allow you to move, bend etc. These joints may degenerate due to injury or arthritis, causing pain and other symptoms.

Spondylolysis and Spondylolisthesis
These conditions themselves do not cause sharp low back pain. But when extensive damage occurs, the facet joints may be affected, causing pain, stiffness and other symptoms.

Spinal Fracture
A spinal fracture may lead to sharp lower back pain. In fact, these fractures cause the sharpest and the most irritating type of back pain. This happens because the nerves that serve the bones are excellent pain signal relays.

Other Causes
Other spinal structures, such as ligaments and intervertebral discs, can also lead to sharp low back pain. Since there are so many nerves in the spine, pain is inevitable if any structure gets affected.

This is only a general overview of some of the causes of sharp low back pain. If you or a loved one is experiencing such pain, consult a pain management doctor right away. A pain doctor is a specialist who can diagnose and treat any type of pain.

If you are looking for the best restorative pain management doctors in San Diego, call Pacific Medical Care at 619-333-8114 Today. All you have to do is make a phone call and the doctor will be at your doorstep within a short while!