Below are some of the most common causes of lower back pain and their symptoms.

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Poor sitting posture

Particularly with office jobs, correct posture is vital to getting through the day comfortably. The longer you sit in your office chair without getting up and moving around, the more pressure is being placed on the bottom of your spine. If your core is weak, you may find yourself slouching forward and hunching your shoulders slightly as this is less effort than keeping your back straight. When standing after sitting incorrectly, pain often manifests in between the shoulder blades and particularly in the middle of the back just above the hips. While a quick walk and appropriate stretch can relieve this ache and make you more comfortable, it is important to strengthen your back as part of a regular exercise routine to prevent the pain from beginning.

Lifting or carrying heavy objects incorrectly

Increasingly, manual labourers and workers are injuring themselves with careless pushing, pulling and lifting of heavy items, placing undue strain on their backs and pulling muscles resulting in pain and immobility. By damaging a muscle and ignoring it and putting more pressure on it, the muscle itself can get damaged and cause further problems in the future. Lower back pain from lifting or carrying heavy objects incorrectly can manifest in two ways – a muscle strain or a lumbar sprain. Both injuries can produce excruciating back spasms, leaving you unable to work. It is important to seek medical attention as soon as possible when an injury occurs as waiting for it to get better on its own and continuing to work will only make the problem worse and could cause serious long-term damage to muscles and ligaments.