Lower Back Pain is, in the United States, one of the most common complaints related to the back. Approximately 80% of adults will experience lower Back Pain at some point in their lives.

Surprisingly, the intensity of the pain may well be unrelated to how much physical damage exists.

* On the one hand, you might have excruciating pain from a muscle spasm you got when you strained your back. Such pain might make it difficult for you to walk, or even stand.
* On the other hand, a large herniated disk, or a disk that is completely degenerated, might cause you no pain at all.

Lower Back Pain Symptom #1

Deep, aching, dull, or burning pain. This pain may be felt in your lower back and/or traveling down your legs. You may find it difficult or impossible to carry on regular daily activities. You may find it difficult or unbearable to work, even if your job requires no manual labor. This lower Back Pain symptom is usually descriptive of chronic Back Pain.

Lower Back Pain Symptom #2

Very sharp pain, or dull ache, usually felt deep in the lower part of your back. This pain may be more intense in one place. You may feel it more in your right side, or it may feel worse in your left side. It may be toward the center or in the lower part of the back. If yours is a very sharp pain, it can come or go, but it usually remains steady. This lower Back Pain symptom is likely to be acute Back Pain caused by an injury or trauma to the back. However, many times there is not apparent cause.

Lower Back Pain Symptom #3

Mechanical Back Pain is a third type of lower Back Pain symptom. The name conjures up images of a mechanical doll or robot, but the pain is real. Acute pain, this one is aggravated when you move. Coughing makes the pain worse. This lower Back Pain symptom is typical of a herniated disk or a stress fracture in the back.

In addition to the pain in your lower back, you might experience pain that radiates into your upper back, your pelvic or abdominal region, or into your hips and legs. Such a pain may consist of a tingling or burning sensation, a dull ache, or a sharper pain. The type of radiating pain could give your physician a clue as to the possible cause.

Lower Back Pain symptoms can be the result of injury to muscles, ligaments, and nerves. They may be a combination of factors. Sometimes, even a well-qualified health care provider will be unable to find the cause, but your lower Back Pain symptoms will still be very real.

Your lower Back Pain symptoms may consist of shooting pain, numbness or tingling down one or both legs, and even into the feet. Swelling or weakness in one leg will indicate a pinched or compressed nerve somewhere in the spinal area. Inability to flex your foot or raise your big toe as you normally would is another lower Back Pain symptom. Muscle spasms or stiffness in the back can be very uncomfortable and difficult to manage. Lower Back Pain symptoms may increase at night or during long periods of sitting.

Action to Take for Lower Back Pain Symptoms

The first step in treating your lower Back Pain symptom should be to contact a doctor to rule out certain causes for the pain. Your doctor may prescribe bed rest for a day or two. He or she may suggest physical therapy or prescription medication to help manage the pain until treatment begins to take effect.

On the other hand, if your lower Back Pain symptoms are not caused by a serious condition, your doctor may recommend heating pad application alternating with ice packs. You may be given a series of exercises to do at home, strengthening the back muscles.

Lower Back Pain symptoms can be uncomfortable enough to cause withdrawal from many activities that you enjoy. With consistent, careful treatment, however, you will soon relieve or even cure many of your lower Back Pain symptoms.

Information on Back Pain – The Need

Information on Back Pain was limited in the days of yesteryear. People were busy using their backs for manual labor, not learning about what caused Back Pain. Information about Back Pain was fine for doctors, but others had little interest in it.

In this day of computer knowledge at the click of a mouse, that has changed. Information on Back Pain is not only readily available, but people need it more. The same computer that offers the information keeps them at their desks, in sedentary lifestyles that encourage Back Pain.

Information on Back Pain Begins with The Back

What is your back? In simple terms, your back is a combination of bones, tendons, ligaments, and nerves. The bones form your backbone – your spine. Picture the spine as a stack of bones. Between the bones are cushioning discs. Ligaments and tendons hold everything in place, and provide movement. Up and down the spine run nerves that carry messages to and from the brain.

What Causes Back Pain?

Back Pain is common – one of the most common reasons for doctor office visits. Its causes are one of the most important bits of information on Back Pain you will need. Usually, it will be a pulled muscle due to:

* Incorrect posture
* Incorrect lifting technique
* Prolonged sitting
* Lack of exercise
* Obesity

Your muscles work to keep your spine straight. If you fight those muscles with one of the above, you may pull them, causing Back Pain.

Back Pain may be caused by more serious things such as injured discs, but the most common injuries are pulled muscles.

Does Back Pain Require a Doctor?

Information on Back Pain would be lacking if it failed to point out that a doctor may be necessary. Rest for a day or two, alternating heating pad and ice pack. If your pain is no less, it is time to see a doctor.

Choose a reputable physician who can properly diagnose and treat your Back Pain. Ask him or her to give you information on Back Pain that will help prevent future injury.

Back Pain Prevention

Professional health care providers encourage a healthy lifestyle for Back Pain prevention. They may tell you that the best information on Back Pain they can give is that you should exercise. The second best information on Back Pain is to practice safety and good posture.

Back Pain is real. Back Pain is common.

The conclusion published by OHS comes from an analysis done by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. WCRI analyzed data from both private insurers and self-insurers, looking at claims with an average of three years’ experience through March 2005.

Back Pain Claims

The Back Pain claims analyzed fell into one or more of these categories.

1. Low Back Pain: Low Back Pain that was non-specific accounted for nearly 1 of every 7 cases of reported Back Pain. Low Back Pain accounted for about ten percent of the money paid in worker’s compensation.

2. Disc and Radicular Back Pain: Back Pain that radiates into the limbs is called radicular Back Pain. Back Pain that involved disc conditions, along with radicular Back Pain, accounted for nearly one fifth of all medical costs in worker’s compensation. At the time, a typical disc Back Pain or radicular Back Pain case cost nearly $10,000.

3. Cervical Back Pain: Cervical Back Pain, involving the neck area of the spine, accounted for nearly five percent of Back Pain cases. Worker’s compensation for this type of Back Pain totaled ten percent of all medical payments.

You Are Not Alone

If you have Back Pain, you are not alone. The human back is involved in virtually every movement throughout the day. At night, it continues to be involved. It supports the body, keeping it balanced against the pull of gravity. Sports injuries, improper posture, work-related sprains and more can cause Back Pain.

Back Pain Relief

Physicians agree that many cases of Back Pain can be relieved through Back Pain exercises. New Back Pain can be prevented by regular, daily exercise aimed at strengthening the core muscles groups.

Elsewhere on this site, we provide information on Back Pain exercises. Click here to read one of those articles.

Posture for Back Pain Relief

Proper posture will keep your joints and bones aligned properly so that muscles can give peak performance. Proper posture will reduce pressure on your spine and reduce chances of Back Pain.

Proper posture is important while standing, sitting, or lying down. Ergonomically correct work areas are a help, but you will want to consciously think about your posture, and take action to sit, stand, and lie correctly.

Back Pain is in the news often, since it is the most common reason for visits to a physician’s office. You need not be a part of that news, however. Take the proper steps to get rid of current Back Pain and prevent future Back Pain.