Back Pain
How do I know if my back pain is serious?
Lower back pain that may be a medical emergency
Seek immediate medical care if your lower back pain is experienced in tandem with any of the following symptoms: Increasing weakness in your legs. Loss of bladder and/or bowel control. Severe stomach pain.
Seek immediate medical care if your lower back pain is experienced in tandem with any of the following symptoms: Increasing weakness in your legs. Loss of bladder and/or bowel control. Severe stomach pain.
Range of Lower Back Pain Symptoms
Low back pain can incorporate a wide variety of symptoms. It can be mild and merely annoying or it can be severe and debilitating. Low back pain may start suddenly, or it could start slowly—possibly coming and going—and gradually get worse over time.
Depending on the underlying cause of the pain, symptoms can be experienced in a variety of ways. For example:
- Pain that is dull or achy, contained to the low back
- Stinging, burning pain that moves from the low back to the backs of the thighs, sometimes into the lower legs or feet; can include numbness or tingling (sciatica)
- Muscle spasms and tightness in the low back, pelvis, and hips
- Pain that worsens after prolonged sitting or standing
- Difficulty standing up straight, walking, or going from standing to sitting
In addition, symptoms of lower back pain are usually described by the type of onset and duration:
Lower Back Pain
- Subacute low back pain. Lasting between 6 weeks and 3 months, this type of pain is usually mechanical in nature (such as a muscle strain or joint pain) but is prolonged. At this point, a medical workup may be considered and is advisable if the pain is severe and limits one’s ability to participate in activities of daily living, sleeping, and working.
- Chronic back pain. Usually defined as lower back pain that lasts over 3 months, this type of pain is usually severe, does not respond to initial treatments, and requires a thorough medical workup to determine the exact source of the pain
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