Back pain is one of the most common reasons for primary care visits. Most people at some point in their lives will experience some form of back pain. Back pain can be mild or severe, pass quickly or last long enough to significantly impact your quality of life.
If you suffer from a back, neck or spine disorder, the Michigan Medicine Comprehensive Spine Program can help improve your quality of life with treatment from our multidisciplinary team and medical or surgical treatment options.
Lumbar degenerative disc disease is a chronic (ongoing) degenerative condition of the lumbar spine that affects the vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs of the low back. The discs lose water content and shrink, and spurs often form as osteoarthritis develops.
The facet joints are the connections between the bones of the spine. These joints allow the spine to bend and twist, and they keep the back from slipping too far forward or twisting too much. Facet joint syndrome occurs when these joints get stressed and damaged due to injury, everyday wear and tear, or disc degeneration.
If you have chronic back and/or neck pain and have most - but not all - of the function you need to allow you to return to work or daily activities, the four-week Functional Restoration Program at the University of Michigan can get you back to work, help you start a new career, or be able to take care of your kids. Our multidisciplinary program addresses the total person, from rehabilitation to vocational counseling.
A herniated disc occurs when the soft inner nucleus of the vertebral disc in the spine pushes through the outer wall. The condition usually occurs in the lower back but it can also occur in the neck. The herniation can result in a large bulge that can press against nearby nerve roots causing pain.
The University of Michigan's divisions of Pain Management find the source of pain and treat it, from chronic and acute pain to headaches and back pain.
The sacroiliac joint (SI joint) is the joint that connects the spine to the pelvis and serves primarily for weight bearing. When the SI joint is painful, activities such as walking, sitting and standing can stress it, causing worsening pain.
After a trauma, a large cut or surgery around the nerves, scar tissue forms. Scar tissue is both good and bad. It helps the nerve attach to nearby structures, but when the patient moves, pressure is placed on the nerve because the scar tissue can pull on the nerve. Even without movement, the scar tissue can reduce the nerve's blood supply. All of this can cause significant nerve pain.
Sciatica is a common form of back pain that radiates along the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body. Irritation of any of the nerve roots that contribute to it can lead to back pain that travels through the buttock and into the lower extremity.
Spondylolisthesis (spawn-dee-lo-LISS-tha-sis) is a condition of the spine in which one of the vertebrae slips forward or backward. The condition can be caused by a congenital defect the patient is born with, an injury or trauma, arthritic changes in the joints of the vertebra, or a bone defect.
The vertebral body is the weight-supporting, solid central part of a vertebra (any of 33 bones of the spinal column). A vertebral body compression fracture is when a break collapses one or more vertebrae of the spine. Vertebral compression fractures are often linked to osteoporosis or thinning of the bone tissue over time. Such fractures may also be caused by trauma.
