What's Causing my Back Pain?

Did you know that only 5-10% of cases of low back pain are associated with a specific pathology. The remaining 90% of low back pain is a result of multiple contributing factors both mechanical and non-mechanical. We know many modifiable lifestyle or mechanical factors can load your lower back in a maladaptive manner. However, other non-mechanical factors including feeling anxious about your lower back pain can not only reinforce maladaptive movements but also impact your pain experience. If you are in a low mood or feeling stressed it can put you on high alert for any incoming signals and also impact how you interpret them. In other words, your mood can turn the volume up on your ‘pain channels’.

When treating low back pain it is important to provide you with the tools to create positive adaptation and pain coping strategies. There is no recipe to treating low back pain and your treating health professional should take into consideration all the factors which could be contributing to your symptoms.