Low back pain is the most common musculoskeletal complaint in Australia, and one of the leading causes of days lost from work. Most people will experience it at some point. That’s reassuring in one sense — you’re not unusual, and most episodes settle — but it doesn’t help much when you can’t put your socks on.

What causes low back pain?

The honest answer is that in most cases, no single structure can be confidently identified as the source. This is what clinicians call non-specific low back pain, and it accounts for the large majority of presentations. It isn’t a diagnosis of exclusion or a way of saying nothing is wrong — it reflects that the lumbar spine is a densely innervated region where discs, joints, muscles and ligaments all sit close together and refer pain in overlapping patterns.

Common contributors include:

• Mechanical load and posture — sustained sitting, repetitive bending, or a sudden change in physical demand
• Deconditioning — reduced strength and movement tolerance, often after a period of inactivity
• Disc-related pain — where the disc is involved, sometimes with leg symptoms
• Facet joint irritation — the small joints at the back of the spine, often more painful with extension and rotation
• Sacroiliac joint involvement — pain lower and to one side, near the dimple of the pelvis

A specific structural cause — fracture, infection, inflammatory arthritis, cancer — accounts for a small minority of cases, but it’s the reason a proper history and examination matters.

Does back pain mean something is damaged?

Not necessarily, and this is one of the most useful things to understand.

Imaging findings like disc bulges, degeneration and facet arthrosis are extremely common in people with no back pain at all, and become more common with age. A scan showing degenerative change often describes a normal, well-used spine rather than the cause of your symptoms.

This is why current Australian and international guidelines recommend against routine imaging for uncomplicated low back pain. Imaging is warranted when there are red flags, when symptoms don’t follow the expected course, or when the result would change management. Otherwise it can lead to unnecessary worry and treatment for findings that aren’t driving the pain.

How long does low back pain take to settle?

Most acute episodes improve substantially within a few weeks. However, recurrence is common, and a meaningful proportion of people go on to have persistent or fluctuating symptoms.

Factors associated with slower recovery include:

• Avoiding movement due to fear of causing damage
• Prolonged bed rest
• High distress or low expectation of recovery
• Poor sleep
• Ongoing high physical or psychological load at work

Notably, most of these are modifiable. Staying active within tolerance is one of the most consistently supported recommendations in the literature — not aggressive exercise through severe pain, but avoiding the shutdown that leads to deconditioning.

How can a chiropractor help with low back pain?

At BPPC in Carindale, we use Advanced BioStructural Correction™ (ABC™), led by Dr Kyle Holmes. Rather than focusing only on where you feel pain, ABC™ assesses how the body as a whole is positioned and loaded.

That’s relevant to the low back for a mechanical reason: the lumbar spine sits between the pelvis below and the thoracic spine and ribcage above. Where the upper body is carried forward of the pelvis, the tissues of the low back work harder simply to hold you upright. Our aim is to identify and address mechanical and postural factors that may be contributing to how your low back is loading.

Care is typically part of a broader approach that includes movement, activity guidance and load management — not passive treatment alone. Responses vary between individuals, and not all low back pain has a mechanical driver that responds to this kind of care.

Following a thorough history and examination, we’ll be straightforward with you about whether ABC™ is suitable for your situation, what care might involve, and when referral to or co-management with your GP or another practitioner is the better path.

What can I do at home?

• Keep moving within tolerance. Gentle walking is usually well tolerated and helps more than rest.
• Avoid extended bed rest. Beyond a day or so it tends to slow recovery.
• Adjust, don’t abandon, your activity. Reduce load and range rather than stopping entirely.
• Look at your sleep setup and desk position. Both are covered in more detail in our other articles.
• Address sleep quality. Poor sleep is strongly associated with worse pain.

Book an assessment in Carindale

If low back pain is affecting your work, sleep or training and you’d like it properly assessed, Brisbane Posture and Performance Chiropractic on Creek Rd, Carindale is here to help. We see patients from across Brisbane’s southside, including Carina, Camp Hill, Coorparoo, Mount Gravatt and surrounding suburbs.

Book here or call the clinic to arrange a time.