Contact your health care provider for back pain that: Lasts longer than a few weeks. Is severe and doesn't improve with rest. Spreads down one or both legs, especially if the pain goes below the knee.
If the pain you feel extends to your arms, forearms, and hands, the source may be your cervical spine. On the other hand, if you feel the pain radiating to your legs, it may be a problem with the lumbar spine.
While some back pain is only mild to moderate, severe back pain is when your pain is constant, intense or gets worse when you're resting or at night. 2. Your pain is persistent. If your back pain lasts longer than three months, it's considered chronic and may require a tailored treatment plan.
If your back pain lasts more than two weeks and keeps you from participating in normal, daily activities, see your family doctor. If your pain is severe, you should see a doctor sooner. You should seek urgent medical care if you have: Fever associated with back pain.
If your back pain is accompanied by any of the following symptoms, head to your closest emergency room because you could be dealing with a more serious condition or injury: Sudden spike in pain, discomfort, weakness or numbness. Loss of bladder function. High fever.
“Red flags” include pain that lasts more than 6 weeks; pain in persons younger than 18 years or older than 50 years; pain that radiates below the knee; a history of major trauma; constitutional symptoms; atypical pain (eg, that which occurs at night or that is unrelenting); the presence of a severe or rapidly ...
Prolonged nerve irritation, which occurs when back pain is left untreated for too long, can lead to permanent disabilities. Untreated vertebrae injuries can even lead to spinal stenosis (the narrowing of the spinal canal), radiculopathy (severe nerve pain), and nerve damage.
Blood and tissue cancers such as multiple myeloma, lymphoma, and melanoma can all cause lower back pain.
Acute, or short-term back pain lasts a few days to a few weeks. Most low back pain is acute. It tends to resolve on its own within a few days with self-care and there is no residual loss of function. In some cases a few months are required for the symptoms to disappear.
Your spinal disc is at the bottom of your back, so if you have pain in your lower back, you may assume it is a slipped disc. Furthermore, the feeling of pain will differ between the two. Muscle pain will feel like post-workout soreness, while disc pain will feel debilitating and tingly.
Check if it's a slipped disc
numbness or tingling in your shoulders, back, arms, hands, legs or feet. neck pain. problems bending or straightening your back. muscle weakness.
Inflammatory pain would more likely be of insidious onset and of longer duration (i.e. more than three months) whereas mechanical pain tends to be more acute and can often be linked to an injury.
If you are experiencing back pain symptoms, you should never ignore or try to suffer through the pain. Always consult your doctor and have open conversations. If you are not satisfied with your doctor or require specialized care, it is recommended to get a second opinion from a back pain specialist.
A common cause of back pain is an injury like a pulled muscle (strain). Sometimes, medical conditions like a slipped disc, sciatica (a trapped nerve) or ankylosing spondylitis can cause back pain. Very rarely, back pain can be a sign of a serious problem such as a broken bone, cancer or an infection.
A common cause of back pain is injury to a muscle or ligament. These strains and sprains can occur for many reasons, including improper lifting, poor posture and lack of regular exercise. Being overweight may increase the risk of back strains and sprains.
Most back pain causes aren't serious or life threatening. Although in rare cases, back pain can signal a more severe medical problem.
As with MRI, CAT scans help diagnose problems with the spinal canal and the surrounding tissues. Electrophysiological tests, such as an electromyography or EMG, which helps measure the electrical activity in muscle. This test helps doctors check for problems with the muscles and nerves.
An MRI is best used when your doctor suspects a specific problem—something other than the muscle strain that causes most low back pain. An MRI usually isn't done when simple muscle strain is suspected, because: An MRI will not show muscle strains or other problems with soft tissues.
Examples of red-flag symptoms in the older adult include but are not limited to pain following a fall or other trauma, fever, sudden unexplained weight loss, acute onset of severe pain, new-onset weakness or sensory loss, loss of bowel or bladder function, jaw claudication, new headaches, bone pain in a patient with a ...
Pain in inflammatory back pain is more often localized to the lumbar spine and may be associated with buttock pain that alternates from one side to another; though, it is patient characteristics, chronicity, and pain progression that set IBP apart from other causes.