Common Back Pain Issues
*There
are many reasons people experience weakness related to back pain, seeing a
Chiropractic Physician and having a proper exam and diagnosis is crucial to
receiving the appropriate treatment.*
Common spinal causes of numbness include the following
:
- Radiculopathy - A pinched nerve caused by a herniated disc
- Stenosis - A narrowing of the spinal canal, which can compress sensory nerve fibers causing loss of sensation
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Stroke
Common cerebral causes of numbness include the following
:
- Stroke
- Seizures
- Congenital abnormalities
- Concussion
- Other generalized conditions, such as psychological upsets
Common neurological causes of weakness include the following
:
- Stroke
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Injury or Damage to Peripheral Nerves - Often the result of trauma, surgery or pressure produced by posture or position
- Myopathy - One or more nerves damaged systemic problems reducing reflexes
- Osteoporosis/Osteoarthritis - Weakness is sometimes a secondary symptom resulting in complications of these conditions
The term radiculopathy is used to specifically describe pain, and other symptoms like numbness, tingling, and weakness in your arms or legs that are caused by a problem with your nerve roots. The nerve roots are branches of the spinal cord that carry signals to the rest of the body at each level along the spine. This term comes from a combination of the Latin word radix, which means the roots of a tree, and the Latin word pathos, which means a disease. This disease is often caused by direct pressure from a herniated disc or degenerative changes in the lumbar spine that cause irritation and inflammation of the nerve roots. Radiculopathy usually creates a pattern of pain and numbness that is felt in your arms or your legs in the area of skin supplied by the sensory fibers of the nerve root, and weakness in the muscles that are also supplied by the same nerve root. The number of roots that are involved can vary, from one to several, and it can also affect both sides of the body at the same time.
The most common symptom of lumbar radiculopathy is sciatica . This is a pain that radiates from your back into your buttocks, and down your legs to the feet. Sensory symptoms are more common than motor symptoms, and muscle weakness is usually a sign that the nerve compression is more severe. The quality and type of pain can vary, from dull, aching, and difficult to localize, to sharp, burning, and easy to pinpoint. Radiculopathy can create hypersensitivity to touch as well as numbness in the area of skin that is supplied by the nerve root. Symptoms such as numbness and tingling, and especially weakness in your leg muscles in the presence of back pain are warning signs that your problem may be more serious and you should see a doctor.
The most common symptom of cervical radiculopathy is pain that radiates down into your arms from your neck. Sensory symptoms are more common than motor symptoms, and muscle weakness is usually a sign that the nerve compression is more severe. The quality and type of pain can vary, from dull, aching, and difficult to localize, to sharp, burning, and easy to pinpoint. Radiculopathy can create hypersensitivity to touch as well as numbness in the area of skin that is supplied by the nerve root. Pain in your arms as well as in your neck is usually the first sign that your nerve roots are irritated by a problem in your neck. Symptoms such as numbness and tingling, and especially weakness in the muscles of your arms are warning signs that your problem may be more serious. Weakness in your arms is a definite sign that you should see a doctor about your neck pain.
Weakness occurs when signals do not travel properly from the brain to the muscles or from problems in the muscles themselves.
If weakness cannot be traced to another systemic condition, such as diabetes, it can come from either a nerve or a muscle problem. Paralysis is the extreme manifestation of weakness.
There are many reasons people experience weakness related to back pain, but the most common cause of overall systemic weakness is inactivity.
A person's posture, gait, step size, and degree and amount of arm swing when walking all affect dozens of muscles in the middle and lower back. A minor injury that may have no symptoms can cause a person to compensate in different ways when walking, sometimes without even knowing it. Both large and small adjustments to these everyday activities can have a domino effect sometimes leading to back pain.
Top of page ^Sciatica refers to pain that begins in the hip and buttocks and continues all the way down the leg. This condition is often accompanied by low back pain, which can be more or less severe than the leg pain. The term "sciatica" indicates that the sciatic nerve, which travels from the lower back through the buttocks and into the leg, is thought to be the cause of the pain. True sciatica occurs when a herniated lumbar disc compresses one of the contributing roots of the sciatic nerve. This type of low back pain is less common than other causes that produce back pain. For instance, sporting activities, recreational activities, and heavy labor can cause back and leg pain, which is commonly misdiagnosed as sciatica. The challenge for a physician is to distinguish between radicular pain, which is caused by an inflamed nerve root, and referred pain, which is a result of a musculoskeletal sprain or strain.
The most common symptom of true sciatica is posterior thigh, lower leg or foot pain that can be much worse than the accompanying lower back pain. Usually a patient will experience moderate to severe pain, which begins in the buttocks and runs down through the leg or foot. It is important to know that true sciatica will produce pain that radiates beyond the knee. Often a patient will have a previous history of lower back pain beginning a few days or weeks before the leg pain occurs, then the leg pain becomes worse than the back pain, and in some cases the back pain will completely disappear.
In cases involving a longstanding history of sciatica, however, the pain may gradually become localized to the buttocks and back of the leg. In this situation, the patient may have a vague aching pain that does not reach all the way to the lower leg or foot, though it may have done so earlier in the course of the condition.
Often there is not a specific traumatic event or motion associated with the onset of sciatica. Standing, sitting, heavy lifting, sneezing, or having a bowel movement may aggravate the pain. Lying down is usually the most comfortable position. Occasionally, paresthesia, weakness and diminished bowel or bladder function, will accompany sciatica, but these symptoms are rare.
Top of page ^Myopathy as in dermatitis that affects the skin, and neuropathy that affects the nerves, is a systemic condition that attacks the muscle tissue, most of the time, all over the body.
There are various types of myopathy, including that caused by diabetes and other endocrine abnormalities from infections and from autoimmune diseases and then there are toxic and hereditary causes.
Most myopathies show up in the muscles close to the trunk first, in the pectoral muscles in the upper extremities, and in the muscles in the thigh.
Patients with myopathy will detect a weakness walking up stairs, their knees may involuntarily buckle and they may find it harder to do routine tasks, such as opening jars.
Top of page ^Osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, two types of diseases that come with age and cause joint derangement, sometimes followed by vertebral fractures, can cause nerve damage in response to these conditions, therefore, weakening muscles.
Spinal Stenosis is the narrowing of the spinal canal by a piece of bone or disc material. This can cause weakness in your extremities. This narrowing results in pressure on the spinal cord and/or nerves. Spinal stenosis can occur in a variety of ways in the spine. Most cases of spinal stenosis occur in the lower back (lumbar spine) and will affect the sciatic nerve, which runs along the back of the leg.
Numbness is a manifestation of abnormal nervous system activity. Numbness is felt when nerve impulses are not traveling properly from the skin to the brain.
A patient with back problems may also experience numbness in other parts of the body, especially the legs and feet. This always indicates some kind of nerve damage in the peripheral nervous system or the central nervous system (i.e., the spine or the brain) and deserves prompt and serious attention.
Numbness can occur in the skin and the linings of body orifices, such as the mouth or the vagina.