Causes

• Muscle strain, ligament sprain and soft tissue injury are the common causes of lower back pain. These happen due to overuse, over stretching or twisting and chronic improper posture. Falls and road traffic accidents cause back injury of varying severity.

• Herniated disc leads to nerve compression associated with 'sciatica', a type of radiating pain. Sudden heavy pressure on the lower back which may be encountered in heavy machinery work and ragged sports activity leads to this slipped disc condition.

• Osteoarthritis is an age related disorder occurring in older people and is a degenerative joint disease.

• Spinal Stenosis, the narrowing of the spinal canal develops with age.

• Osteoporosis most commonly seen in post menopausal women is the cause of compression fractures that occur even on application of slight or small amount of force on the spine.

These are the more frequently encountered causes of low back pain among the several conditions that can lead to back pain

Diagnosis

An Orthopaedic may take a patient's medical history and do a thorough physical examination. Additionally imaging techniques such as X-Ray and MRI may be used by the doctor to arrive at the diagnosis. Other investigations may also be advised by the doctor to pinpoint the

underlying cause.

The Myovision brand of SEMG test in now available India. Myovision is a computerized examination which uses Surface Electromyography (SEMG) to measure the electrical activity of the muscles. Myovision has been developed by a NASA scientist and is similar to an ECG (which is done for the heart)

Myovision is a diagnostic tool which can be used as an excellent prognostic indicator in acute as well as chronic back pain be it a soft tissue injury, posture related back problems or muscle spasms and contractures. It is ideally suited support in sports therapy and rehabilitation programs. Its unique feature is the graphical depiction of the improvement or deterioration of the back pain. And what is wonderful about this is that the patient can see this himself - as the reports are visual. The entire Myovision Examination can be done in 10 - 20 minutes.

Prevention Tips

•Maintain good posture

•When standing make sure ears, shoulders and hips in a straight line,

• At work sit in chairs with straight back with knees positioned a little higher than the hips.

• Lift an object by bending at the knees. Keep the back straight and avoid bending or twisting the back while lifting the object

• To move heavy objects it is preferable to push them rather than pull.