Low Back, Lumbar, or Sciatic Pain

Dave Clarke, MD

“Low back or lumbar pain refers to discomfort in the lower back's five spinal bones (lumbar vertebrae).

Sciatic pain follows the sciatic nerve, which originates from five lower spinal nerves that merge into a large nerve extending to the legs and feet. Pressure on these nerve roots can occur due to bulging discs or joint swelling between vertebrae.

However, spine abnormalities like bulging discs are common in people over 40 and even in younger individuals, often without causing pain.

If a doctor's neurologic exam finds no muscle weakness, reflex loss, bowel or bladder issues, or skin sensation loss, serious nerve root compression is unlikely.

Most bulging disc pain resolves naturally within weeks or months. If pain persists without nerve root compression, the brain may be contributing to the symptoms.”

  • Why would the brain do this? Nearly always, one or more types of stress is involved even if this is not fully recognized at first.

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  • Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

    Experiences that would make you sad or angry if they happened to a child for whom you care.

  • Stressful Personality Traits

    Such as focusing too much on the needs of others, excessive self-criticism, perfectionism, lack of assertiveness, and many others.

  • Unrecognized Negative Emotions

    Such as anger, fear, shame, grief, or guilt.

  • Triggers

    Including people, situations, or events that remind you of stressful situations.

  • Current Life Stresses

    Such as work, parenting, pressure from loved ones, or major life changes.

  • Mental Health Challenges

    Such as depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress.

The good news is that all these sources of stress can be successfully diagnosed and treated.

To explore whether this applies to you, take the self-diagnostic quiz below. It consists of 12 simple 'Yes or No' questions. The more 'Yes' answers you provide, the more likely it is that the resources on this website can help.