Your vertebrae joints (also known as facet joints) connect the vertebrae, providing flexibility and stability for the spine. They allow you to rotate and move backward and forward; however, strenuous movements over a lifetime can cause these joints to become inflamed or even develop painful arthritis. However, a painful back isn't just something that grandma and grandpa are dealing with; teenagers and middle-aged workers are also struggling, often due to various lifestyle factors, such as sitting way too long and improperly.
According to the World Health Organization, low back pain affects over 619 million people globally, can happen at any age, and is the leading cause of disability.
That's why dismissing back pain as a senior problem is dangerous for younger people. By understanding its causes and solutions, more Americans can enjoy good spinal health that supports a balanced body and mind.
How Do Vertebrae Joints Work?
Vertebrae joint health matters as it prevents bone-on-bone friction as you move, due to cartilage and a capsule filled with lubricating synovial fluid. These joints connect each vertebrae allowing you to comfortably move your spine. Those joints in the lower/lumbar region are extra important; they help support most of your body weight.
When you bend, walk, run, twist, and turn, and lift, healthy vertebral joints and discs work together to distribute the load. That's why compromised spinal alignment or integrity puts additional pressure on those joints and nearby nerves. Due to generational lifestyle changes, younger people are having more back stress than past generations have.
What Are Common Causes of Back Pain?
Jobs like construction, retail, package delivery, or even medical care often involve repeated heavy lifting or sudden, awkward movements that can easily strain your spinal ligaments and back muscles. However, those who sit all day at a desk or prefer sedentary activities like gaming aren't off the hook.
Slouching with poor posture can also create lower back strain. Constant spinal pressure can create misalignment over time, which can cause a disc to bulge and possibly compress on a nearby nerve.
Arthritis is a painful, inflammatory condition that could affect any joint in the body, including your vertebral joints. As the facet joint cartilage breaks down, it can create bone-on-bone friction.
Osteoporosis is a disease in which the bones become porous and brittle, and your spinal vertebrae aren't immune to it. Weak and compressed vertebrae put pressure on the joints and can cause them to develop inflammation.
Being overweight or obese doesn't help. Your spine supports your entire body, so excess weight puts additional stress on all its moving parts.
Why Are Younger People Having This Problem?
Past generations may have played outside until the street lights came on, but the current generation of kids is practically born with a cell phone in their hand and can stream anything online, from movies to articles to games.
More sitting means less exercise and overall daily movement, which also weakens abdominal and back muscles. As mentioned, excess weight puts pressure on the lower back. According to CDC data from 2020, obesity affects 19% of American children (ages 2 to 19).
By age 40, people already have early disc degeneration, even if they don't feel it due to age-related changes. However, common lifestyle practices exacerbate disc deterioration as these years are often peak work and caregiving time, involving repetitive movements, long hours at a desk, hours sitting in a car going between errands, heavy lifting, and more.
Additionally, there's the "weekend warrior effect," where someone in this age group may have intense but unprepared activity after a sedentary week. Doing so heavily stresses the joints and ligaments beyond their recovery points.
Why Does Spinal Health Matter?
Imagine a house without a strong foundation; it would fall. Well, your spine is the foundation that holds your entire body up, enables you to move freely, and promotes a healthy nervous system.
Spinal alignment affects communication between the brain and body as it houses and protects the spinal cord. One misaligned disc can compress a nerve, leading to numbness, tingling, and/or pain. Some also link spinal health to the alleviation of allergies and better immunity.
How Can I Get Back Pain Relief?
Good back health can start today when you:
- Use ergonomic furniture
- Sit with your back straight
- Keep the computer at eye level
- Avoid slouching
- Take breaks every 20 minutes to an hour
- Stretch
- Low-impact exercises like regular walking, swimming, and yoga,
- Get your weight down to a healthy level
- Get physical therapy
If physical therapy, medication, and lifestyle adjustments don't work, you may need more intervention such as TLIF surgery, which decompresses the spinal cord and destabilizes the spine. Under a highly experienced neurosurgeon, this procedure can stop further degeneration of the affected joints.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Inflammation of the Joints Between the Vertebrae Called?
Ankylosing spondylitis is a type of arthritis in the joints and ligaments of the spine. It can show up by causing spinal stiffness, and severe cases may even cause vertebrae to fuse together, creating inflexibility and rigidness.
This condition may include milder episodes of stiffness and back pain that come and go. Some people may also develop psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, and eye disease. While there's no cure, occupational and physical therapy can control the symptoms.
What Does an Inflamed Vertebra Feel Like?
Expect to feel a deep throbbing pain that may improve when you move a certain way or worsen when you lie down to sleep or rest. This aching or sharp pain may also be accompanied by severe stiffness that limits movement.
You may have muscle spasms, localized tenderness, radiating pain, or tingling sensations in arms or legs if it affects the nerves. The affected area may also swell and feel highly sensitive to touch.
Spinal Joint Issues Are Common But Preventable
It's never too late to practice spinal health to protect your overall mobility, nervous system, immunity, and graceful aging. As more people live a sedentary lifestyle that fosters weight gain and bad posture, it increases the likelihood of chronic back pain.
However, with lifestyle adjustments like better ergonomics, getting fit, and proper stretching, you can prevent ongoing damage to the building blocks of your body's foundation, the vertebrae joints.
This article was prepared by an independent contributor and helps us continue to deliver quality news and information.