Have you ever experienced ‘a sudden sharp pain shooting through your back’? If so, it may well be lumbago. Lumbago is an acute form of back pain, characterised by a sudden, painful and cramp-like sensation in your back. In medical terms, it is also known as acute lumbago or lumbalgia, which literally means ‘lower back pain’.
Kand characteristics of lumbago
Lumbago is caused by a spasm in the deep lower back muscles. This results in a sudden and very severe shooting pain in the lower back. This spasm makes it very difficult to move your lower back and restricts your range of movement.
Initially, pain is felt very locally in the lower back. This may migrate to the left and/or right over time.
Common lumbago symptoms:
- Acute back pain
- Sharp and (in it) shooting pain
- Cramp
- Motion restriction of the low back
- Radiating pain (in the buttocks/upper legs)
- Unable to stand up
- Pain when sitting
Causes of lumbago
Lumbago is a result of small tears in the wall of an intervertebral disc, an elastic disc that sits between the bones of the spine. These small cracks cause a sudden tightening of the deep muscles in the lower back. This tightening is triggered by the body itself to prevent worse. Lumbago is almost always an acute complaint resulting from making a wrong movement such as bending, lifting, twisting, etc. But it is also quite possible that the complaint has existed for some time.
Small cracks in the wall of the intervertebral disc are generally signs of age or wear and tear. Overuse, sudden movements and stress can also be causes.
The main causes of lumbago listed:
- Strained back, due to heavy work, sports or driving, for example
- Moving the (low) back incorrectly
- Making a sudden unexpected movement
- Stress
- Presence of a herniated disc in the (low) back
- (Facet) osteoarthritis
Treatment of lumbago
In most cases, the pain will subside on its own. However, it is important that you continue to exercise sensibly, for example by going for regular walks. Of course, this does not mean that the cause of the problem has gone away. The real problem is that ‘residual’ damage remains, which can manifest itself in, amongst other things, ‘instability’ in the (lower) back or other persistent symptoms. It is therefore advisable to seek treatment from our specialist physiotherapists.
Your physiotherapist will help you understand where your symptoms are coming from, so that you can also understand what is really causing your back pain. Depending on the results of the assessment, they will determine which treatment method is most effective for your lumbago. These may include, for example, the treatment methods below:
