What is Back Pain?

Back pain can be classified in a number of ways. One commonly used division is into two groups of acute low back pain or chronic low back pain. Acute low back pain describes the sudden onset of pain in a patient with no previous history of low back pain. The vast majority of episodes of acute low back pain resolve within a week or so. A few patients have severe pain for more than six weeks. Chronic low back pain is the label given to the condition when it has persisted for more than three months. Many problems with chronic low back pain for years with fluctuating level of symptoms.

Of course it is not always as simple as this, and a more common situation is acute recurrent episodes of low back pain. The patient has severe pain, which often lasts for a few days or weeks, then settles almost completely only to return again. The episodes often seen to be precipitated by minor movement or activity and, not surprisingly, patients then attempt to avoid any activity that could aggravate the problem. This may lead to de-conditioning of the muscles and a decline in general fitness. These factors themselves may contribute to the ongoing problem.

Causes of Low Back Pain

• Non-specific low back pain
• Discogenic pain (pain arising from disc)
• Disc protrusion (this more typically causes pain in the leg)
• Facet joint arthritis and Spinal Stenosis
• Imflammatory causes, such as ankylosing spondylitis
• Cancer and other tumors
• Spinal Infection