PCL 6- Risk Factors and Other Causes of lower back pain.

Risk Factors: Sciatica

Risk factors for sciatica include health problems, lifestyle choices and inherent qualities, such as age or race. Major risk factors for sciatica are:

1. Age: Age-related changes in the spine are a common cause of sciatica. You're likely to have some deterioration in the disks in your back by the time you're 40.

2. Occupation: A job that requires you to twist your back, carry heavy loads or drive a motor vehicle for long periods makes you more prone to develop sciatica.
3. Prolonged sitting: People who sit for prolonged periods or have a sedentary lifestyle are more likely to develop sciatica than active people are.
4. Diabetes: This condition, which affects the way your body uses blood sugar, increases your risk of nerve damage
5. Pregnancy: Risk of sciatica is greatly increased during pregnancy, due to hormonal changes and the position of the baby.
6. Walking and Running: The two sports that are most likely to increase the risk for sciatica symptoms.

Other causes of Lower back Pain

The most common causes of low back pain are:

- Injury or overuse of muscles, ligament, facet joint, and the sacroiliac joint.

- Pressure on nerve roots in the spinal canal. This could be caused by:

> A herniated disc: often bought on by repeated motion/ vibration, or by a sudden heavy strain or increased pressure to the lower back.

> Osteoarthritis (Joint Degeneration): This typically develops with age. When osteoarthritis affects the small facet joints in the spine, it can lead to back pain.

>Spondylolysis or Spondylolisthesis: vertebra defects that can allow a vertebra to slide over another when aggravated by certain activities.

>Spinal Stenosis( narrowing of the spinal canal): typically develops with age.

> Fractures of the vertebrae caused by significant force.

> Spinal deformities, including curvature problems such as severe scoliosis or kyphosis.

- Compression Fracture.

Less common spinal conditions that can cause low back pain include:

- Ankylosing spondylitis, which is a form of joint inflammation (arthritis) that most often affects the spine.

-Bacterial Infections: Back pain may be the result of an infection in the bone (osteomyelitis), in the spinal discs, or in the spinal cord.

- Spinal Tumors: growths that develop on the bones and ligaments of the spine, on the spinal cord, or on nerve roots.

-Paget’s disease: This causes abnormal bone growth most often affecting the pelvis, spine, skull, chest, and legs.

- Scheuermann’s disease: in which one or more of the bones of the spine (vertebrae) develop wedge-shaped deformities

- Kidney problems: Kidney infections, stones, and traumatic bleeding of the kidney (Hematoma) are frequently associated with low back pain.

- Pregnancy: leads to low back pain by mechanically stressing the lumbar spine (changing the normal lumbar curvature) and by the positioning of the baby inside of the abdomen. Additionally, the effects of the female hormone oestrogen and the ligament-loosening hormone; relaxin may contribute to loosening of the ligaments and structures of the back

-Ovary Problems

-Shingles of the lumbar area can lead to back pain.

- Failed back surgery syndrome, which mean that a person is still having significant symptoms after surgery.