The lowdown on lower back pain

A new Johns Hopkins study investigates the source of back and joint pain with the goal of reverse engineering treatments. An illustration of a person It's a familiar story: you feel a twinge in your back and next thing you know, you can't get out of bed. From back pain to achy joints, musculoskeletal pain, while common, can be life-changing and debilitating. But does it have to be? That's the big question for Jill Middendorf , an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University who studies the mechanical factors that cause our cartilage, ligaments, and joints to break down. "Our goal is to understand the degeneration process of musculoskeletal tissues, including cartilage, ligaments, and intervertebral discs, using advanced mechanics techniques," Middendorf says. "If we understand why this process is happening, we hope to translate our findings into new methods to repair damaged tissues and prevent more pain," In a recent study published by the Journal of Biomechanical Engineering , Middendorf and collaborators sought to understand how the soft tissues of the spine change as spinal discs break down, or degenerate, over time. Specifically, they looked at the facet capsular ligament-a soft tissue that holds the two sides of the facet joint together and is thought to be a common cause of lower back pain.