What Causes Sharp Lower Back Pain?
Due to a problem in your spine or shoulder, intense pain in your lower back usually occurs but can also arise from your internal organs. A guide to the accompanying signs and possible causes of acute, extreme lower back pain is given in this blog.
Range of symptoms that may accompany sharp pain in the lower back
In your lower back, intense pain can be confined to one or both sides. You can also find that the pain originates on the left or right side of your lower back from a specific location. One or more of the following signs and features usually include sharp lower back pain:
Decrease in motion. In the underlying muscles, extreme lower back pain is usually associated with increased stress and spasm, causing discomfort and a diminished range of motion.
Radiate through nerves. A shooting pain can radiate into your leg through the affected nerve if your lower back problem originates from your spinal nerve roots.
Cause neurologic deficits. Neurologic symptoms, such as numbness, tingling, a pins-and-needles sensation, and a general feeling of weakness in the leg(s), can be associated with lower back pain caused by nerve inflammation or compression.
Specific postures or behaviors, such as sitting, standing, walking, and lying down, may aggravate or relieve these symptoms. While spinal pain usually recovers within a few days to weeks, the symptoms may become debilitating, disrupting your daily activities significantly.
Common musculoskeletal causes of severe lower back pain
Sudden or repetitive damage to one or more structures that support your back, such as muscles, ligaments, joints, and intervertebral discs, are the most common causes of acute lower back pain.
Muscle strain
In your lower back, a strained muscle (muscle strain injury) can give extreme flareups of pain, spasm, and rigidity. This condition can also be localized on the left or right side of your lower back, causing sharp pain. Popular signs of injury to your lower back from a muscle strain include:
- Acute, shooting pain that with movement intensifies
- Standing or walking problems
- Sharp pain from a sit-to-stand or stand-to-sit posture when moving
When you recline with support and elevate your legs or lie down and elevate your knees, the pain is usually relieved. It can also help alleviate pain and heal the damaged muscle by following the PRICE protocol.
Lumbar herniated disc
Between your vertebrae, your spinal discs act as shock absorbers, support your upper body, and allow a wide range of lower back movements. If your lower spinal disc(s) herniates, a nearby spinal nerve root can leak its inner contents, irritate or compress.1 A number of symptoms are caused by the resulting cascade of inflammatory events, such as:
- Acute pain in the lower back and stiffness
- Increased pain, such as moving heavy items or strenuous exercise during those activities
- The sensation of burning in the cunt, thigh, and/or calf
- Sharp pain along the outer side or under the foot or a dull ache
- In the knee, fatigue, numbness, and tingling
It is called sciatica when these symptoms arise from the sciatic nerve roots (L4 to S3).
By taking anti-inflammatory drugs and doing various forms of lumbar extension exercises, which can also help heal the disc, herniated disc symptoms can be alleviated.When substantial neural compression occurs with serious symptoms, more intensive medical treatment(s) may be needed.
Piriformis syndrome
The piriformis muscle, situated profoundly in your buttock, is affected by this pain syndrome. Your buttock and hip will become painful if you have piriformis syndrome, and this pain can be referred to as your lower back.3 Common signs include:
- Sharp, searing buttock pain that increases for a long time while sitting
- Acute pain in the lower back and weakness
- Warm pressure on the back of your thigh or a burning feeling
By taking pain-relieving medicine, Piriformis syndrome pain can be relieved. Muscle relaxants (obtained by a prescription) can help alleviate muscle discomfort and pain in extreme cases.
Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
Sacroiliitis, a condition that causes your sacroiliac (SI) joint to become inflamed and dysfunctional, which connects the bottom of your spine to each side of your pelvis, can cause 4:
- Sharp, stabbing or shooting pain felt on the right or left side of your lower back and buttock, directly over the affected joint.
- The sensation of burning around the back of your thigh
- Positional flare-ups that can occur when you move, climb stairs, or lie on the affected side, from standing to sitting
Pain-relieving medications can help relieve acute symptoms in conjunction with postural correction and sacroiliac joint exercises. If the joints are badly inflamed and irritated nearby nerve tissues, medical therapies such as radiofrequency ablation may be needed.
Although these are relatively common patterns, these conditions may differ greatly in their actual appearance, making it difficult to self-diagnose the root cause of pain.It is also possible with no known cause for significant lower back pain to occur. Nonspecific lower back pain is called this condition.
Acute back pain due to inflammation of internal organs
Owing to inflammation or irritation of an internal organ, pain in your lower back may occur or may be a symptom of infection.Mid-back, abdominal, or pelvic organs can directly cause pain on the right or left side of your lower back, or it can be generalized across the area.
Caring for your lower back pain will help reduce the symptoms in your back and legs and improve function. Although lower back pain usually subsides within a few weeks, the pain may become chronic, lasting for months, due to some underlying problems.
To better understand whether your discomfort originates from your lower spine and/or hip or is an internal organ, contact your doctor for an accurate diagnosis of your lower back problem. To assess the discomfort and devise an effective recovery plan, a doctor will perform suitable medical tests.