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The most common reason of severe lower back pain is an issue with your spine or hip, but it can also be caused by your internal organs. This article will discuss the symptoms and possible causes of acute, severe lower back pain.

A number of symptoms may accompany acute lower back pain.

Acute lower back pain might be on one or both sides. You may also believe that the pain is originating from a specific area on your lower back’s left or right side. Sharp lower back pain is frequently accompanied by one or more of the symptoms and characteristics listed below:

    Motion has been minimised. Severe lower back pain is frequently accompanied by increased muscle tension and spasm, resulting in stiffness and a decreased range of motion.

    The nerves emit a ray of light. If spinal nerve roots are causing your lower back pain, a shooting sensation may go into your leg via the damaged nerve.

    As a result, neurologic deficits occur. Lower back pain caused by nerve irritation or compression may be accompanied by neurologic symptoms such as numbness, tingling, pins-and-needles sensation, and a general sense of weakness in one or both legs.

Certain postures or activities, such as sitting, standing, walking, and lying down, might aggravate or alleviate these symptoms. While most occurrences of spinal pain resolve within a few days to weeks, the symptoms might become incapacitating and interfere with your daily activities.

Musculoskeletal diseases that frequently cause severe lower back pain

Acute lower back pain is typically caused by a sudden or repetitive injury to one or more of the tissues that support your back, such as muscles, ligaments, joints, and intervertebral discs.

Muscle tenseness

A pulled muscle (muscle strain injury) in your lower back can cause extreme pain, spasms, and stiffness. This injury could also be localised, causing severe pain in either your left or right lower back. Common symptoms of a lower back muscular strain injury include:

    Acute shooting pain that worsens with movement

    Difficulties standing or walking

    Sharp pain when changing positions from sitting to standing or standing to sitting.

Usually, reclining with support and elevating your legs, or sleeping down and elevating your knees, will relieve the pain. Following the PRICE programme may also help with pain alleviation and muscle healing.

Disc herniation in the lower back

Your spinal discs serve as shock absorbers between your vertebrae, provide support for your upper body, and enable you to move your lower back in a number of ways. If the inner contents of your lower spinal disc(s) herniate, they may irritate or crush a nearby spinal nerve root. 1 The subsequent sequence of inflammatory reactions causes a variety of symptoms, including:

    Acute lower back stiffness and pain

    Pain associated with specific actions, such as moving heavy objects or indulging in strenuous exercise

    Buttock, thigh, or calf burning feeling

    Sharp or dull pain around the outside of the foot or beneath the foot

    Numbness, tingling, and weakness in the legs

Sciatica develops when these symptoms arise from the roots of your sciatic nerve (L4 to S3). 

Anti-inflammatory medications and particular lumbar extension exercises can help lessen herniated disc symptoms while also repairing the disc. When there is significant brain compression and severe symptoms, more intensive medical treatment(s) may be required.

Piriformis Syndrome

This discomfort condition affects the piriformis muscle, which is located deep in your buttock. Piriformis syndrome causes pain in the buttocks and hips, which can spread to the lower back. The following are three common symptoms:

    Sharp, searing buttock discomfort that worsens with extended sitting

    Acute lower back stiffness and pain

    A burning or heated sensation across the back of your thigh

Piriformis syndrome can be treated with pain relievers. In severe cases, muscle relaxants (obtained with a prescription) may help alleviate muscle stiffness and pain. Long-term treatment usually consists of extending the piriformis muscle and physical therapy.

The sacroiliac joint is dysfunctional.

Sacroiliitis is a condition marked by inflammation and dysfunction of the sacroiliac (SI) joint, which connects the bottom of your spine to your pelvis on each side.

    Sharp, stabbing, or shooting pain felt directly above the afflicted joint – on either the right or left side of your lower back and buttocks a burning sensation running down the back of your thigh positional flare-ups that can occur when standing to sitting, climbing stairs, or lying on the afflicted side

A combination of pain medicines, posture adjustment, and sacroiliac joint exercises may help reduce acute symptoms. If the joints are severely inflamed and affecting neighbouring nerve tissues, medical treatments such as radiofrequency ablation may be required.

While these are common patterns, the actual presentation of various disorders varies widely, making self-diagnosis of the underlying cause of pain difficult. It is also possible to experience significant lower back discomfort for no obvious reason. This is referred to as nonspecific lower back pain. 

Internal organ inflammation causes acute back discomfort.

Lower back discomfort could be the result of an internal organ being inflamed or irritated, or it could be an indicator of an infection. Mid-back, abdominal, or pelvic organs may cause pain in the right or left side of the lower back, or it may be widespread.

Internal organs inflammation can induce lower back pain in the following ways:

    Kidney stone disease. A kidney stone that travels inside the kidney or the ureter, a narrow tube that connects the kidney to the bladder, can cause severe lower back pain. The discomfort is frequently restricted to the left or right side, depending on which kidney is affected.

    The kidneys are infected. Kidney infections usually start as urinary tract infections (UTI), causing inflammation and pain in the lower back depending on which kidney is affected.

    Colitis with ulcers. Consistent inflammation of the large intestine (colon) can cause stomach cramping and acute back pain on one or both sides of the lower back and abdomen.

    Pancreatitis. Pancreatic inflammation, which also causes upper stomach pain, may induce lower left back discomfort.

    Appendicitis. Appendicitis can produce severe aches in the lower right abdomen and back.

Lower back discomfort in women can be caused by specific illnesses such as uterine fibroids and endometriosis, as well as pregnancy.

Lower back pain treatment can help you feel better and perform better in your back and legs. While most lower back pain resolves in a matter of weeks, some underlying disorders might cause your suffering to become persistent and last for months.

Consult your doctor for an accurate diagnosis of your lower back pain to discover whether it is caused by your lower spine, hip, or an internal organ. A doctor can conduct necessary medical tests to analyse your suffering and devise an efficient treatment plan.

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