Could Your Back Pain be Caused By Your Veins?

One of the most common ailments that physicians see is lower back pain. Despite how common lower back pain is, sometimes the underlying cause and solution can be elusive for many practitioners. We are quick to assume that back pain is a problem of bones, muscles and joints, but is it? With the increasing availability of more focused, diagnostic tests, we are finding more frequently that back pain is caused by vein problems. In the same way that a herniated disc can press on a nerve and cause pain, tingling, and numbness, swollen veins in the pelvis and lower back can also cause these same symptoms.

When you have a sinus infection, you know that pressure and pain you feel in your nose, forehead and sinuses? That is venous congestion. Imagine now what that type of congestion would be feel like in your lower back.

How Veins Can Cause Back Pain

Veins are affected significantly by gravity. Just like the veins in your arm fill up with blood and bulge when a tourniquet is applied to take a blood sample, every time you are sitting or standing, the veins in your abdomen and lower back are swollen due to the action of gravity. When these veins have been chronically swollen over the course of several years, they can press on the nerves of your lower back and pelvis. This nerve compression can mimic the exact same symptoms of musculoskeletal back pain. It can even cause sciatic nerve pain and numbness that travels down the outside of your thigh.

The process that causes veins to compress nerves begins during fetal development. As many as 2 out of every 3 people are born with some sort of venous abnormality in the lower abdomen. Narrowing or stenosis of the veins in your central abdomen and pelvis causes pressure to increase downstream, just like a tourniquet. This increase in pressure won’t always cause problems until later in life when the collagen in the veins wears out and the veins start dilating. Those dilated, pressurized veins communicate with the veins around the spine, and so the entire network of veins becomes chronically pressurized and dilated. These dilated veins can cause all sorts of issues by pressing on anatomic structures, such as nerves, the bladder, the uterus and ovaries.

If left alone and not corrected, the veins continue to pressurize additional branches of veins and can even dilate veins that are farther away. The longer this goes on, the more severe the symptoms will be, and the more likely it is that a patient will have symptoms of some kind.

How Can Venous Back Pain Be Treated?

Venous back pain is diagnosed by taking X-rays of the area. Often that back pain can be fixed on the spot through an IV, with almost no recovery or down time. The treatment is less invasive than current treatments for musculoskeletal back pain.

Correction of this problem involves preventing these dilated veins from filling up and pressing on the nearby structures. This can be accomplished by several methods that are done through an IV. Repair does not involve much discomfort or recovery time.

It is truly a good time historically to have this problem. We see a number of patients who have had spinal surgery that didn’t fix their pain. Being able to solve a problem that these patients have been struggling with for years is extremely gratifying. It is my hope that if we continue to increase awareness of venous causes of back pain, that we will solve more of these problems before patients are put through an invasive spinal surgery.

Dr. Christopher Hollingsworth: Christopher C. Hollingsworth is a board certified General Surgeon with a rich background of experience from extensive training in the United States and Europe. After completing undergraduate studies at the University of Southern California, he studied medicine, surgery and obstetrics at The Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland. Following graduation from medical school, he worked at James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Dublin, training in surgical oncology, breast surgery and endoscopy. He then accepted a position as surgical resident at the University of Nevada, School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery. His training at UNLV Medical Center provided extensive experience in general surgery, vascular surgery, plastic surgery, pediatric surgery, trauma and critical care. He received the Arnold P Gold award for humanism and excellence in teaching as a resident at University Medical Center in Las Vegas. This prestigious award is given to only a few select medical school faculty members chosen from any specialty across the entire United States who excel in compassion, empathy, and integrity. Dr. Hollingsworth’s fellowship training in minimally invasive endovascular surgery, complex hernia repair, and body contouring procedures in massive weight loss patients at NYC Surgical Associates, has allowed him to provide the latest procedural techniques to his patients, offering comprehensive treatment plans for all of their needs. His disarming demeanor, excellent bedside manner, devotion to patient care, and masterful technical skill set make him a tremendous asset to NYC Surgical Associates. Dr. Hollingsworth is active in media, previously working as the editor of a global magazine with publication on three continents and in seven languages. He has authored numerous articles on topics in the healthcare field. Outside of medicine, Dr. Hollingsworth enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children. He is enthusiastic about computers, nutrition, extreme sports, and motor sports. He is licensed to practice in New York and New Jersey. He is conversant in occupational Spanish.