There are many causes of low back pain in middle-aged and elderly people, both acute and chronic; light and heavy, paralyzed or weak; some can be cured without medication, while others can’t be saved. Low back pain is almost the “patent” of middle-aged and elderly people, and is one of the most common topics of conversation when we meet. Do people feel back pain and back pain only when they are old? That’s not quite true. According to medical statistics, 60% to 85% of people have suffered from low back pain at some point in their lives; the most common illness people get is the flu, followed by low back pain. There are many causes of low back pain in middle-aged and elderly people, both acute and chronic; light and heavy, paralyzed or weak; some of them can be cured without medicine, while others are hopeless. How can this be? Let’s get acquainted with some of the more common lumbar disorders: I. Injuries The human body spends most of its life upright. The weight of the entire body is supported by the spine, and its center of gravity descends from the head through the spine, intervertebral plates, pelvis, femur, knees, and down to the feet, allowing people to maintain an upright, stable body shape while standing or sitting still. However, due to the effects of lifestyle habits (such as poor posture at work), improperly designed chairs or mattresses, obesity, heavy lifting, weight lifting, and other external stresses, the spine is overloaded. These chronic strains and acute sprains cause damage to the lumbar muscles, ligaments, fascia, small intervertebral joints, lumbosacral joints, sacroiliac joints and other tissues. The chance of back pain of this kind accounts for 70% of the whole incidence of back pain! Second, degenerative degeneration is related to osteoporosis and aging. As we age, the vertebrae of the spine and the surrounding soft tissues follow aging, wear and tear, osteophytes (bone spurs spur), leading to degenerative osteoarthritis (Osteoarthritis); and disc sclerosis, compression and even rupture (herniation). These factors account for 15% of the incidence of back pain. Bending and lifting heavy objects in the elderly can trigger lumbar disc herniation or vertebral compression fractures. Traumatic lumbar disc herniation occurs more often in young adults between the ages of 20 and 40. Third, osteoporosis Ageing, the decline of the body’s metabolic function, so that the absorption and metabolism of calcium slow, especially women entering menopause, more likely to develop osteoporosis. Bones in all parts of the body become loose and porous, fragile and brittle, leading to fractures and ruptures, especially in the spine! This phenomenon not only causes severe pain, but also distorts and deforms the spine of women patients, resulting in hunchback, shortening the body and making it difficult to move around. Fourth, lumbar spinal stenosis The lumbar spinal canal itself is mostly narrow due to congenital underdevelopment, and degenerative lesions occur in the lumbar spine after middle age, such as osteophytes, hypertrophy of the ligamentum flavum and the vertebral plate, hypertrophy of the small synapses, and degeneration of the intervertebral discs, which further narrow the volume of the spinal canal. Chronic lumbar disc herniation, spinal slippage, post-spinal fusion or post-laminectomy can also cause lumbar spinal stenosis. The narrowing of the spinal canal volume causes compression of the cauda equina and nerve roots. The main symptoms of this condition are long-term recurrent lumbar pain and intermittent claudication. The soreness, tingling or burning pain in the lumbar region may radiate to the outer thighs or the front, etc. When standing and walking, low back and leg pain or numbness and weakness appear, and the pain and claudication gradually worsen, even to the point of not being able to continue walking, which improves after rest. In severe cases, it may cause urinary urgency or difficulty in urination. Some patients may experience muscle atrophy of the lower limbs, hyperalgesia of the limbs, and dull reflexes of the knee or Achilles tendon. V. Other factors: Tuberculosis or bacterial infection of the spine or intervertebral plates, rigid or rheumatic spondylitis, or primary or metastatic cancer of the vertebrae can cause back pain. In addition, abdominal diseases such as stones in the kidneys and upper ureter, abdominal aneurysms, or psychological factors may also cause low back pain. Clinically, these diseases must be strictly differentially diagnosed from the above-mentioned causes in order not to delay treatment and cause serious consequences that cannot be saved.