Low back pain

Date: 10/06/2021

Hours: 2

Total hours: 132

 

This hour was for CPD of low back pain. This research was carried out as this is a general interest and in high demand with recent client base.

Low back pain is one of the leading causes of injury amongst patients. It has been suggested that almost everyone will have experienced some form of back pain at least once in their lives (Hoy et al, 2010). Other effects of low back pain can be influenced by poor lumbar instability and a decrease in muscle control.

Low back pain will mostly affect the lumbar region of the spine. Within this area of the spine, there is cause for concern and some red flags of potential pathologies which may include some common causes with the lumbar discs, degeneration of the discs, osteoporosis, arthritis, disc fractures, spondylolisthesis. These types of pathologies can be a great cause for concern where there may need to be a possible referral for operation due to nerve or disc damage. These are pathologies which will need to be identified during physical examination of patients with low back pain where red flags may be present which may indicate underlying conditions such as cauda equina syndrome, infection, malignancy, or fractures.

Prevalence:

Low back pain is not limited to any age or gender and can affect any type of population. However, a study by Hoy et al (2012) suggested that females are among the highest prevalence along with those aged 40-80 years. These causes may be due to the different growth patterns during adolescence, menstruation, and pregnancy. It has also been identified by Wáng et al (2016) that women at the age of menopause or are currently going through menopause are within the highest prevalence of pain, with some studies showing some links between menopause and lumbar disc herniation. Within adolescent, females may be higher at this age due to hormone fluctuation and growth factors.

However, it was also identified that males were within the highest prevalence with work related factors being one of the main causes (Wáng, 2015). This included a high prevalence of lumbar disc degeneration with mechanical loading, physical injury and stress being some of the leading causes of injury leading to this.

Effects of low back pain:

Once of the most common factors associated with the effects that low back pain can have on the body is the changes in walking gait. Many studies have investigated the effects this can have on gait with one of the main muscles causing changes in gait pattern being the erector spinae.

Low back pain can also show many functional deficits such as influences on hip mobility. It was suggested how balance ability and lumbar spine movements were greatly affected by those with pain as there was postural adjustments made due to pain avoidance.

Things to look out for, red flags, cauda equina, sciatic p. spinal stenosis.