How To Manage Lumber Spine Arthritis

Lumbar spine arthritis is a problem that affects the lower area of the spine known as lumbar spine. It causes pain, inflammation, and loss of motion in lower back and the pelvic griddle area. Lumbar spine arthritis can even start at small age of 20 years. However, it is known to be more common in women after menopause.

The common arthritis symptoms are pain, stiffening, and swelling of the joints. Usually, the pain is more in the early hours of the morning or after some time of inactivity. After some time, the pain can enter the pelvic area. The discomfort develops gradually and becomes a chronic condition, which never resolves completely. Although the pain can be controlled by medicines, it still comes and goes at regular intervals.

Although there is no exact cause determined for lumbar spine arthritis, still sometimes it is attributed to the process of aging. At times, it is also caused by an injury on the spine. People who regularly lift heavy objects or sit or drive for a long period of time are mostly affected by lumbar spine arthritis.

Lumbar spine arthritis is caused due to discs losing elasticity and becoming dehydrated. This causes the loss in suppleness and height of the discs. This further results in the alteration of the vertabra's position along with the connecting ligaments. It sometimes leads to wear and tear in the disc tissue. Lumbar spine arthritis gradually makes the lower back vertebrae lose their elasticity and the cushioning ability.

Arthritis therapy can help patients suffering from lumbar spine arthritis. It involves regular exercise and medication. The exercises can be learned under the guidance of a physiotherapist. Some times the pain caused by lumbar spine arthritis can be reduced by sleeping on a firm mattress and sitting in a chair with armrests and proper backrest.

The patients should manage their weight since any excess weight stresses the back, making the condition even worse. The pain is also controlled by using some anti-inflammatory medications without any steroids. Muscle relaxants are also prescribed to some patients.

Surgery is only prescribed to those patients who show no response to the normal therapy used for controlling the pain. It should be opted only after consulting an orthopedist or a neurosurgeon.

All these facts hold true in every case of lumbar spine arthritis. Still, lumbar spine arthritis can be a problem for life if proper measures are not taken to curtail the degree of damage done to the lower spine. One should not hesitate to get treated properly after diagnosis. In the current scenario with the development in medical science, not to do so would be foolish.

Degenerative Spine