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Many conditions and types of injuries can cause back pain, which can be acute (short episodes) or chronic (ongoing, daily pain). Acute back pain usually affects the lower back and lasts for less than six weeks. Causes of back pain can include inflammation, lifting something incorrectly, sitting or standing too long, stress, lack of exercise, foot or leg problems that alter your normal way of walking, or an injury or accident. Chronic back pain (lasting longer than three months) can have other causes. Click a link below to learn more about common back problems and causes of back pain.

Arthritis

Bulging disc

Degenerative disc disease

Degenerative spondylolisthesis

Failed back syndrome

Herniated disc

Myelopathy

Nerve compression

Osteoarthritis

Osteoporosis

Ruptured disc

Sciatica

Scoliosis

Slipped disc

Spinal stenosis

Sprains/strains

Tumors of the spinal cord

Arthritis is the wearing away of the protective tissue layer that covers the bone ends inside joints. This layer acts as a shock absorber. As it wears, the joint becomes achy, swollen and eventually deformed. Arthritis can occur at any age after an injury to a joint.

Bulging disc is not necessarily a cause of back pain and is a normal process of aging. Discs are basically shock absorbers that hold a lot of water. Each disc begins to lose its water and its shock absorber effect starting in our late teens. As it does, it flattens and the edges bulge outward, just as a deflated air mattress would.

Degenerative disc disease (DDD) causes pain when discs wear out, narrowing the space between vertebrae. With less space available, nerves can become compressed and painful. All discs lose their water content and degenerate as we grow older, but some people’s discs degenerate faster than others. Some people experience much more pain from these degenerative changes than others. DDD will often present as sudden, unexpected back pain following a small injury, or as a gradually worsening low back pain.

Degenerative spondylolisthesis, also known as a slipped disc, is a condition in which one vertebra slips forward onto the one below it. This usually occurs because the back part of the slipped vertebra is not connected to the body the way it should be. In adults, the most common cause is degenerative disease (such as arthritis) and the slip usually occurs between the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae. Symptoms can include lower back pain, pain in the thighs and buttocks or tenderness in the slipped area. Leg weakness or numbness can result from pressure on nerve roots and can cause pain to radiate down the legs. Other causes of spondylolisthesis include stress fractures (caused by repetitive hyper-extension of the back, commonly seen in gymnasts) and traumatic fractures.

Failed back syndrome is not a single disease but a collection of conditions that emerge after any number of surgeries or other treatments. Patients with failed back syndrome have undergone one or more surgical procedures and continue to have debilitating pain. This pain may be caused by recurring disc herniation, excessive scarring, or injury to nerve roots. Einstein’s Failed Back Program helps evaluate and treat people suffering with failed back syndrome.

Herniated disc occurs when the outer lining of a disc in the spine becomes torn, allowing the soft inner disc material to stick out, which can put pressure on nearby nerves. Herniated discs tend to cause sciatica or leg pain, due to this pressure on the nerves.

Myelopathy, also known as cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM), is caused by compression of the spinal cord in the upper spine. Arthritis causes bony spurs to form, which then grow into the spinal canal and compress nerves in the spinal cord. Symptoms of myelopathy include neck pain, problems with balance, numbness in the hands and fingertips and difficulty with fine movements such as buttoning a shirt. Conditions that can cause myelopathy include multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease).

Nerve compression can be the painful result of many back conditions, including spinal stenosis (which puts pressure on the spinal cord), herniated discs and many others. This condition occurs when a degenerated or injured vertebra or disc places pressure on nearby nerves, causing pain to radiate through the spine and into the arms or legs. Nerve compression can also occur when a tumor presses on surrounding nerves.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis ( Osteo is Greek for bone; arthritis means joint inflammation.) Osteoarthritis (OA) is an inevitable part of aging and can affect any joint. It usualy develops after age 45; about half of men and women over age 65 have it to some degree. OA is caused in part by wear and tear on a joint over time. It develops as cartilage – smooth tissue that cushions bones and keeps them from rubbing against each other – breaks down. This leads to joints becoming painful, warm to the touch, reddened and swollen. When the cushioning system of the joint is lost, the bones may grind painfully against each other. The joint can begin to stiffen, and movment is impaired. OA typically strikes the weight-bearing joints (knees, hips, back, feet); hands; and spine. The knee is the most commonly affected joint.

Osteoporosis (brittle bones) is a condition in which bones lose calcium, causing them to become fragile and more likely to break. If left untreated, osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone does break, such as a hip, spine or wrist or rib. This disease affects more women than men; 80 percent of those with osteoporosis are female. You may be at increased risk for osteoporosis if you have a family history of brittle bones; suffer from autoimmune disorders such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis or asthma; are extrmemly thin; or are a postmenopausal woman or a man with low testosterone levels. Children with such conditions as cystic fibrosis, celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease are also at increased risk of osteoporosis because they can not absorb nutrients such as calcium properly. There are steps you can take to help prevent osteoporosis. These steps include getting enough calcium in your diet or through supplements, as well as Vitamin D to ensure your body absorbs the calcium. Getting regular exercise, especially weight-bearing or resistance exercise, builds stronger, denser bones. Avoiding smoking and heavy drinking can also improve bone health. Long-term use of some medicines (cortcosteroids, anticonvulsants) can speed up bone loss.

Ruptured disc is another way to describe a herniated disc.

Sciatica is pain that radiates from your lower back down through your legs when your sciatic nerve becomes compressed, inflamed or irritated. This nerve exits the spinal cord at the end of the lumbar spine.

Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine. Scoliosis can be related to a problem with the formation of vertebrae, or fused ribs or can occur due to diseases that cause poor muscle control, such as polio or muscular dystrophy. Scoliosis can appear in previously straight spines, and may have no known cause. This type of scoliosis (idiopathic) mostly affects teenaged girls.

Slipped disc is another term for degenerative spondylolisthesis.

Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal that causes pressure on the spinal nerves, commonly caused by osteoarthritis. This condition occurs as our bodies age and is seen mostly in patients over the age of 50. Some people have congenital spinal stenosis, that is, they are born with a narrow spinal canal that becomes progressively worse. Symptoms of spinal stenosis can include leg pain that worsens with walking and back pain.

Sprains/strains are two different injuries, although both are the result of forcing a joint past its normal range of motion. Sprains occur when ligaments that connect bone to bone are overstretched, resulting in swelling, pain and even bruising. Jammed fingers, twisted knees, and twisted ankles are common examples of sprains. Strains, also called muscle pulls, refer to an overstretching of a muscle or tendon that causes the muscle to actually tear. Strains usually occur when a muscle is stretched too fast.

Tumors of the spinal cord don’t occur frequently (about 0.5 to one percent of all tumors) and nearly 85 percent of them are benign. The other 15 percent of spinal cord tumors are cancerous, however, they are most frequently seen in cancer patients whose disease has spread. Spinal cord tumors can compress nerves, disrupt vertebrae and cause intense pain.