In this week’s episode of Back Talking! we continue with the series “What is causing your lower back pain?” Lumbar strains represent probably the largest single cause of someone struggling with a lower back pain issue. We decide to clean out the basement,  help a friend move that old couch down into the basement, or spread a truckload of mulch in a weekend, and the next thing you know is that you can’t get up off of the floor!

Lumbar Strain

There is always confusion regarding the words sprain and strain. People use them interchangeably, but there is a difference in the medical world. A sprain is the tearing or stretching of a ligament, a strain is the tearing or stretching of a muscle. When someone rolls their ankle and sprains it, they have suffered an injury to the ligaments surrounding the ankle joint. When someone overdoes it working in the yard, it’s typically a muscle injury. The good news is that muscle strains recovery fairly quickly.

In this case study we follow Jason. He is one of those guys that had a truckload of mulch dumped into his driveway. He then spent the next 2 days spreading that around his yard with a rake and a shovel. If that wasn’t enough, the following weekend he decides to tear a rotting deck off of the back of his house. The days that followed for him were a real struggle, so much that his wife had to help him dress and put on his shoes for him! He’s having a hard time sitting at work as well.

We also clarify the age old heat or ice debate that people so frequently ask about. We also discuss the use of topical creams such as Icy-Hot and Ben-Gay. So take a listen and see how Jason recovers from his weekends of work!

Spondylolytic spondylolisthesis. Wow that is a mouthful! Okay, now for a translation of the words, that should help to make things a little clearer.

Spondylo means vertebra, lytic means to burst, and listhesis means to slip. So the word translates to a burst and slipped vertebra! Yikes! that doesn’t sound very good! Actually, there are many people walking around with this and have no idea at all.

Spondylolisthesis

This condition has numerous causes, and in fact has been classified into 6 different categories. What we are going to discuss today is the lytic type that affects the pars interarticularis. The mechanism of injury for this type is thought to be from repetitive cycling of the vertebra between flexion and extension. This cycling motion creates either a stress fracture or a complete break through the posterior arch of the vertebra called the pars interarticularis. To understand this better, think of when you are trying to break a “green” stick. You bend it back and forth, back and forth, until it finally snaps. Well this is essentially the same phenomenon that takes place in the spine. An activity such as gymnastics, with all of the tumbling and flipping,  football lineman in going from a 3 point stance to make contact with the player across the line of scrimmage, and pole vaulters arching up and over the bar, are all considered high risk activities for spondylo’s.

In this episode we follow the story of Jessica. She is a 17 year old student at one of the local high schools. She is a volleyball player with scholarships to 3 colleges to play ball for them. She is also on several club teams in the area, so she is on the court 6 days a week. With all of the training, playing in matches, and time spent in the weightroom, she has developed a spondylolytic spondylolisthesis.