A lot of senior citizens and older people develop lumbar spine arthritis and lower back arthritis. These conditions can also occur in people who are overweight, obese or lift heavy objects regularly. If you have had spinal injuries in the past, you need to be careful of arthritis too.
Your backbone has vertebrae’s which are comprised of many smaller bones. The front of the spinal cord has discs which act as cushions in between the vertebrae. Two facet joints connect the discs and vertebrae. The only reason that people can bend down, twist sideways and lean back is that of their spinal discs and facet joints.
People develop arthritis in their lower back after their protective cartilage becomes too worn. This occurs from injury, excessive stress or pressure on the back, and old age. When the bones of your vertebrae start rubbing together, they may put pressure on a spinal nerve close to them. This will cause swelling and pain in that area.
When the backbone’s facet joints develop lumbar spine arthritis, your back and neck will have reduced flexibility and movement because they will be stiff and painful. You may experience other disorders along with this, such as spinal stenosis and spinal disc degeneration.
People who suffer from lower back arthritis will experience a lot of pain and stiffness there in the morning. It will occur immediately after they step out of bed. Throughout the day, the stiffness will gradually loosen up as the person conducts their daily activities. But if the person conducts strenuous activities, especially for a long period of time, then it will make the symptoms much worse. Some of the other symptoms you can expect to have are irregular back pains, neck pains, neck stiffness, and lower back pain. As a result, you will have trouble stretching, bending, and walking.
Over time, you can expect lumbar facet arthritis to worsen. Once that happens, bone spurs will form in the joints. This will cause the surrounding tissues to swell, which could possibly pinch the nearby nerves. This condition is known as spinal stenosis. The symptoms you will have from this include numbness, leg pain, trouble walking, and leg tingling.
You can treat arthritis in the lower back by doing the following:
Use anti-inflammatory medications to reduce the inflammation and pain of the arthritic facet joints. Try to stick with 100% natural supplements for your anti-inflammatory medication because they work better and have fewer side effects.- Losing weight will always help take pressure off your facet joints because they will have less to carry. Then you will have pain relief in your lower back.
- Doing physiotherapy will make the muscles stronger which support your lumbar spine region. This means your facet joints won’t have so much of a burden placed on them.
- If you visit a chiropractor, they can perform a procedure known as spinal manipulation. This will give you temporary pain relief.
- Topical pain relief creams, offer pain relief while reducing inflammation and increasing mobility. The more natural, the fewer side effects and the better for you.
