Dull Pain? Less Serious Causes of Back Pain
Back pain is a common condition that leads to a reduction in your capacity to do work. The severity of the back pain varies according to the seriousness of its underlying cause. Learn more about dull pain in your back.
There is a broad range of its causes. These causes include injuries and medical conditions. The dull pain in your back includes compression fractures, radiculopathy, lumbar facet arthropathy, and spinal stenosis. A detailed description of these moderately severe causes of back pain is in the following section.
1: Compression Fractures
Compression fractures occur when there is a sudden increase of pressure on your vertebrae. For example, you can get a pressure fracture of the vertebrae when you jump from a height. Older people are at more risk of pressure fracture because of osteoporosis. The damage of the vertebral column by compression fractures is itself painful. The fractured pieces of vertebrae can also press on the spinal nerves and the blood supply of the spinal cord. These two consequences lead to back pain. There is a gradual worsening of pain in compression fractures.
2: Lumber Facet Arthropathy
Facet arthropathy of the vertebrae is a common cause of pain. It is a degenerative condition. The degeneration may occur due to trauma as well as due to aging. The facets of the vertebrae are placed between the individual vertebrae. The facets are jointed to the posterior part of the vertebrae, and their function is to limit bone mobility. The facet joints have a structure similar to other joints. When the facet joints begin to wear down, the vertebrae are compressed against each other, which leads to pressure exertion on the spinal cord. The pressure on the spinal cord disrupts its blood supply and causes pain. The back pain caused by lumbar facet arthropathy worsens after sleep and rest. It is usually centered pain on both sides of the spine at the site of compression. The pain also worsens or bending, standing, and twisting.
3: Spinal Stenosis
The spinal cord passes through a hole in the vertebral column. The individual holes of the vertebrae join to form a tunnel for passage of the spinal cord. The narrowing down of this hole of vertebrae in the lower part of the vertebrae column is called lumbar spinal stenosis. The narrowing of these holes puts pressure on the spinal cord passing through it. Lumbar spinal stenosis also interferes with the blood supply of the spinal cord. This pressure on the spinal cord and interference with the spinal cord’s blood supply may cause dull pain in your back. The burning type of pain occurs that may radiate towards the buttocks and legs.
4: Radiculopathy
Radiculopathy is the punching of spinal nerves by vertebrae. The spinal cord runs through the tube made by the central hole of the vertebral bones, and the spinal nerves exit from the vertebral column through spaces between the individual vertebrae. An irregular shape or orientation of the vertebral column due to any cause can cause pinching of the spinal cord or spinal nerves. This pinching of the spinal cord or spinal nerves may cause dull pain in your back.
Do you have dull pain in your back? Diagnosis Information
The diagnosis of the cause is made in three steps.
History: Your doctor will ask questions about the type of pain. They will also ask about the circumstances in which the pain started.
Physical Examination: During the physical examination, your doctor will check the severity, type, and location of the pain.
Lab Reports: Your doctor will ask for an X-ray, MRI, or CT Scan to look for any structural injury or any other abnormality of the vertebrae.
Treatment for Dull Pain in Your Back
The treatment of back pain will vary according to the cause of the pain. In mild to moderate cases of back pain, a combination of pain killers and bone-strengthening medications is used. The bone-strengthening medications include calcium and vitamin D supplements.
There might be a need for surgery in some cases. The type of surgical procedure will depend on the cause of back pain.
The Takeaway Message
The dull pain in your back include compression fractures, lumbar facet arthropathy, radiculopathy, and lumbar stenosis. Your doctor will pinpoint the cause of the disease by history, physical examination, and imagining techniques. The treatment procedure will include bone-strengthening supplements and pain killers. There might be a need for surgery in some cases.
References
1: Bartleson J. D. (2001). Low Back Pain. Current treatment options in neurology, 3(2), 159–168. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11940-001-0051-4
2: Wong, C. C., & McGirt, M. J. (2013). Vertebral compression fractures: a review of current management and multimodal therapy. Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare, 6, 205–214. https://doi.org/10.2147/JMDH.S31659
3: Lee, S. Y., Kim, T. H., Oh, J. K., Lee, S. J., & Park, M. S. (2015). Lumbar Stenosis: A Recent Update by Review of Literature. Asian spine journal, 9(5), 818–828. https://doi.org/10.4184/asj.2015.9.5.818
4: Berry, J. A., Elia, C., Saini, H. S., & Miulli, D. E. (2019). A Review of Lumbar Radiculopathy, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Cureus, 11(10), e5934. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.5934
5: Perolat, R., Kastler, A., Nicot, B., Pellat, J. M., Tahon, F., Attye, A., Heck, O., Boubagra, K., Grand, S., & Krainik, A. (2018). Facet joint syndrome: from diagnosis to interventional management. Insights into imaging, 9(5), 773–789. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13244-018-0638-x
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