- The most common symptom or condition treated by chiropractors wordlwide
- Most commonly caused by joint, connective tissue, and muscle structures
- Prolonged pain is due to multifactorial biopsychosocial network of individual causes
Low back pain
Low back pain is the symptom that causes the most discomfort and disability worldwide, affecting all age groups. Due to this and the traditional focus of chiropractors on musculoskeletal disorders, it is also one of the most common complaints seen in clinics, with many different causes.
Variation of symptoms in low back pain
The symptoms of lower back pain are very individual and varied:
- May be constant or variable. Most commonly variable.
- May be associated with a certain position, movement, or time of day.
- It may feel like aching, stabbing, dull, sharp, and/or electric shock-like.
- It may be localised, difficult to locate, or radiating.
As a rule of thumb, functional back problems often vary, while structural problems such as disc bulges and spinal canal stenosis symptoms are often constant. Statistically, so-called non-structual functional nonspecific low back pain accounts for over 95% of all low back pain.
Causes of prolonged low back pain
Prolonged symptoms are usually caused by a combination of several factors rather than just one of the factors listed below.
- Psychological factors, such as anxiety, depression, and/or excessive mental strain, commonly known as stress. Fear of movement and catastrophizing of symptoms.
- Lifestyle factors, such as too little or too repetitive exercise, insufficient or poor-quality sleep, and obesity.
- Local or central nervous system sensitization of the pain system.
- Social factors, such as insufficient support from one’s environment or dissatisfaction with family or work matters.
- Genetic factors, such as connective tissue type.
- Structural factors, such as disc bulging, piriformis syndrome, and spinal canal stenosis. Extremely rarely, tumors in spine.
Treatment and rehabilitation of lower back pain
Treatment usually includes:
- Manual therapy to treat joint, muscle, and fascia dysfunctions.
- Neurological rehabilitation to address individual neurological deficits.
- Individual exercises to improve posture and movement.
- Acupuncture to treat pain and pain sensitization.
- Lifestyle guidance to improve exercise, sleep, rest, and eating habits.
Read more about related pain syndromes:
Low back intervertebral disc problems
Hip flexor pain (Psoas syndrome)
Viimeksi päivitetty 13.10.2025
