Lower back pain is a common symptom despite one’s ages, sex, occupation, and stratum. It used to happen to blue collar workers, but now it is just as common with white-collar workers. Patients often suffer from unilateral or bilateral waist pain.

Symptoms

There are soreness, pain, and numbness; the degree of painfulness varies from mild to severe. With some severe cases, patients feel uneasiness whether sitting down or standing up, and sometimes they can’t sleep or eat well.

Causes

1. Poor sitting and standing posture may induce muscle, fascia, and ligament pain.
2. Symptoms include HIVD, spondylolithesis, renal colic, nephritis, spinal infection, tumor, endometriosis, and retroversion of uterus.
3. Degeneration of osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and aging vertebra.
4. Overuse or trauma especially with muscle sprain, muscle strain, accident, and over-extension.
5. Psychological or mental problems such as stress and work.

Plan for further treatment

Western medicine: Rehabilitation ( traction, thermotherapy, electrotherapy), oral or intravenous medication, and surgery.

Chinese medicine: Acupuncture, massage, steam therapy, oral medication, thermotherapy, and bed rest.

How to prevent lower back pain in daily life!

1. Sit in chairs with an upright posture or place a support or cushion for your lower back.
2. Stand straight to keep natural curve of the spine. Walk with head raised, jaw drawn back, and toes straight and flat. Keep your ears, shoulders, and hips in a straight line; with your head up and your stomach pulled in.
3. Choose a proper mattress and sleep on your side with your knees bent.
4. Don't lift by bending over your waist. Lift an object by bending your knees and squatting to pick up the object. Keep your back straight and hold the object close to your body. Avoid twisting your body while lifting.
5. Keep your knees a little higher than your hips when driving a car.
6. If you must sit or stand for a long time, change or move positions from time to time. Bend knees slightly when doing housework in order to maintain the normal lumbar curvature. 
7. Swimming, walking, and jogging are good exercises to improve your overall fitness.
8. Maintain an ease and relaxed mood.

How to choose proper food?

1. Avoid oily and spicy food.
2. Intake fresh vegetables and fiber-rich food such as mulberry, walnut, cashew nut, medlar, and etc.
3. Choose milk, sesame, clam, and laver that contain plenty of calcium.
4. Avoid bamboo shoots, pickled cabbage, mango, and banana.
5. Avoid alcohol, cigarette, coffee, and strong tea.

Diet treatment

1. Pig kidney with Eucommia ulmoides Oliv( 杜仲  ): Boil for soup.
2. Pig vertebra, Dipsacus asperoides( 續斷 ) and medlar soup.
3.  Wu Kuchi and Polygonum multiflorum Thunb ( 何首烏 ) soup.