Lumbar (low back) osteoarthritis

Lumbar osteoarthritis is also called low back arthritis or lumbar spondylosis. Low back osteoarthritis describes wear and tear of the low back. Everyone’s back ages and undergoes some wear and tear. This is a normal part of ageing and usually isn’t a major problem. Some people for a variety of reasons such as genetics, previous injuries and occupational factors will have accelerated wear and tear. This is low back osteoarthritis.

Symptoms

Common symptoms of low back osteoarthritis are low back pain and stiffness. Depending on the level of osteoarthritis, symptoms are variable. In advanced cases, symptoms may include numbness, weakness and sciatica type pain in the legs.

Treatment

The treatment of low back osteoarthritis depends on many factors such as the extent, nature, severity of symptoms and the functional capacity of the individual. For more personalised information, please contact your chiropractor or medical doctor.

Causes of low back pain

The following conditions are common causes of low back pain.

• Lumbar myelopathy
• Cauda equina syndrome
• Lumbar spinal stenosis
• Bone Spurs
• Degenerative disc disease (DDD)
• Pinched nerve
• Lumbar radiculopathy
• Lumbar facet joint pain
• Bulging Disc
• Herniated Disc
• Disc protrusion
• Discogenic pain
• Post laminectomy syndrome
• Coccydynia
• Spondylolisthesis
• Spondyloarthropathy
• Ankylosing spondylitis
• Reiter’s syndrome
• Psoriatic arthritis
• Enteropathic arthritis
• Sacroiliac disorders
• Foot drop
• Spinal neurofibroma
• Acute low pain
• Chronic low back pain
• Stiff low back
• Trigger points in the low back
• Red flags for low back pain
• Internal disc disruption
• Lumbar spondylosis
• Lumbar facet syndrome
• Lumbar foraminal stenosis
• Lumbar disc herniation
• Lumbar osteoarthritis
• Lumbar osteophytes