Lumbosacral Arthritis - Causes, Symptoms, Treatment
Lumbosacral arthritis or lumbar arthritis affects the lower back and pelvic area, causing pain, inflammation, and the loss of motion in those areas. People with lumbosacral arthritis should learn how to properly care for their backs. By using proper lifting techniques, practicing a specific set of stretching and strengthening exercises, and modifying activities to protect the backbone, people can reduce low back pain. These actions may reduce the chance of increased injury to the spine.Lumbosacral Athritis affects the lumbar area of the spine (the lower back and pelvic girdle) causing inflammation, pain and even loss of ovement in those areas. Normally the discs at the lower end of the spine are quite soft. The beauty of this is that they cushion the bones in the lower part of your spine. However as these discs loose their elasticity they become less effective at their supposed job. Its the lack of cushioning in the lower spine that causes the inflammation and pain.
Causes
Beginning at about age 20, the disks of the spine begin to lose their elasticity and become dehydrated. The lumbar disks become less supple and lose some of their height. This alters the position of the vertebrae and the connecting ligaments, sometimes leading to tears in disk tissue. Bony spurs may develop on the vertebrae, representing further degeneration of the spine.
The exact cause of lumbar and lumbosacral arthritis is unknown. Some degeneration of the spine is thought to be the result of the normal aging process, but sometimes an old injury or a direct blow to the spine will play a role. Also, people whose occupations require heavy lifting, long periods of sitting or driving, or other repetitive pressures on the backbone are also at risk for arthritis in this part of the spine.
Causes of Lumbar Arthritis are found to be varied and not exactly known. Some of the causes are (a) repetitive movements of the spine (b) degeneration of the spine as a result of normal aging process or (c) a previous injury to the spine.
Symptoms
Pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints are the most common symptoms of all types of arthritis. With lumbosacral arthritis, the pain may be concentrated in the pelvic region or between the lower rib cage and buttocks. Low back pain is associated with leg pain, numbness, tingling or weakness in the legs. Often it results in an altered gait or a change in posture. This can lead to pain in other weight-bearing joints such as the knee, hip and ankle.
Classic symptoms of any form of arthritis include joint pain, swelling, and stiffness. Patients with lumbar arthritis often have low back or pelvic pain. They tend to have difficulty with mobility secondary to postural changes and decreased flexibility. As with most forms of osteoarthritis, pain and stiffness is most pronounced in the morning. As movement increases over the course of the day, symptoms tend to subside. In general, if there is no evidence of nerve root compromise, pain from an arthritic spine is localized to the low back with possible dull aching referred pain in the buttocks.
Treatment
Depending on the severity of the condition, amount of pain the animal is experiencing, overall health of the animal, financial restrictions, and other factors, lumbosacral stenosis is treated surgically or nonsurgically.
Nonsurgical treatment: If the condition is mild, dogs may be treated with strict rest for 6 to 8 weeks. Anti-inflammatory medications such as prednisolone are given. In many cases, this can relieve the symptoms. However, when the dog becomes more active, the symptoms can return.
Treatment of lumbar arthritis aims at reducing and controlling the pain, so that the patient can lead a normal life. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications or non-narcotics are generally prescribed for pain management. In cases of extreme pain corticosteroid epidural is injected into the affected area. In this type of arthritis it is always advised to reduce the excess use of muscle relaxants and painkillers. Excess use of muscle relaxants increases the dependency and excess use of pain killers can cause sprain or injure the back.
