Most back pain is usually ‘non-specific’ with no obvious cause or ‘mechanical’ where pain originates from joints, bones or soft tissue in and around the spine. Often it can be due to posture, a lack of exercise stiffening the spine while muscles weaken, and/or strains and sprains.6,7

Specific conditions linked to back pain include:

·       a slipped disc where a spinal cartilage disc prolapses, pressing on a nerve;6

·       spondylolisthesis where a vertebra slips out of alignment, most commonly in the lower back or neck;6,8

·       (age-related) spondylosis with the spinal discs becoming thinner while inter-vertebral spaces narrow, and osteophytes (small bony projections) begin to grow at the edges of the vertebrae or where they link together (facet joints);7

·       ankylosing spondylitis with facet joints being inflamed and in some cases fusing together limiting flexibility;6,9

·       spinal stenosis where the space in the spinal canal narrows due to bone or ligament growth, putting pressure on the nerves in the spinal column or as they leave the spinal column through the nerve root canal;6

·       sciatica, the most common form of radiculopathy (also known as ‘lumbar radiculopathy’, ‘nerve root pain’, and ‘radicular pain’) resulting in pain, tingling and/or numbness due to pressure on sciatic nerve roots as they emerge from the spine in the lumbar and sacral regions of the lower back, and potentially muscle weakness.6,10,11