Many people immediately associate lower left back pain with any muscle strains or injuries to the area. With how common muscle injuries are to the lower back, it’s no wonder that that’s everyone first assumption. The problem is, not all lower back pain is caused by muscle sprains or strains. It can be dangerous and even downright deadly to immediately assume that’s the cause and not seek treatment right away.
Most lower back pain associated in the center of a person’s lower back is probably caused by some sort of strain or inflammation in the area. If you’re having lower left back pain, or even lower right back pain, you seriously need to sit up and take notice. Don’t dismiss it as having slept oddly the night before or being a little stiff after sitting at your desk at work all day.
Back pain that’s located more on one side over the other could signal a potentially life threatening situation known as a kidney infection. Chances are, by the time someone is feeling lower left back pain from a kidney infection, the kidney infection has been going on for awhile. Kidney infections can cause permanent damage to a person’s kidney. In a worst case scenario, a kidney infection can cause a person’s kidney to stop functioning entirely. That can result in the need for dialysis and a potential kidney transplant later than life. Often times, kidney infections are accompanied by a fever. Sometimes, the fever can spike extremely high, very quickly.
Kidney infections can be caused by bladder or urinary tract infections. If you’re prone to them, you really need to immediately seek treatment if you have lower left back pain. Bladder infections can be asymptomatic. That means, you can have one and never know it because you don’t feel it. Bladder infections can cause kidney infections by allowing bacteria to go into the kidneys. That’s why any lower left back pain really should be evaluated by a doctor to see if it’s the beginning stages of a kidney infection.
Another potential cause of lower left back pain could be a pinched nerve. Many nerves branch out over our entire body from the spinal cord. They run through muscle, around blood vessels, even through spaces between our bones and joints. If a muscle becomes inflamed, it can cause nerves to rub up against the bone, effectively causing the nerves to become pinched between the muscle and bone. If bones become misaligned, it can cause nerves to pinch between the bones. Any sharp, stabbing pain in your lower left back needs to be treated by a doctor. There are different treatments for pinched nerves than muscle strains so it’s important you are getting the proper treatment for your lower left back pain if you want to avoid injuries in the future.
As you can see, there are many different causes and treatments for lower left back pain. The important thing is to get proper treatment for your particular injury.