Last Updated on Tuesday, 08 September 2009 12:11

Back Pain Symptoms

The primary symptom of low back pain is a pain or ache anywhere on your back, in between the bottom of the ribs and the top of the legs.

Most of the time back pain clears up fairly quickly by itself, but if you are concerned talk to your doctor. Back Pain is usually divided into the following groups:

Acute Back Pain: When the pain lasts for les than three months.

Chronic Back Pain: When the pain persists for more than three months.

Simple Back Pain: This is the most common type. It’s linked to the way the bones, ligaments and structure work together. Usually nothing shows up in tests like x-rays and there is not usually any permanent damage.

Nerve Root Pain: This is very rare and is usually caused by one of the discs in your spine bulging out. This is called a slipped disc. The pain is usually felt in the lower back and can travel down one of the legs. This is often referred to as sciatica.

Other: In rare cases, there may be a more serious underlying cause of back pain, such as an abnormality of the spine, an infection or collapse of the vertebrae, tuberculosis or cancer. These are more likely to be the case if your back pain starts gradually, gets worse over time and seems unrelated to your level of activity.

Visit your GP as soon as possible if you begin to experience back pain together with any of the following symptoms:

• a fever,

• weight loss,

• inflammation or swelling on the back,

• constant back pain that does not ease after lying down or resting,

• pain that travels to the chest or pain high up in your back,

• pain down the legs and below the knees,

• you have had a recent trauma or injury to your back,

• loss of bladder control,

• unable to pass urine,

• loss of bowel control,

• numbness around the genitals, buttocks or anus,

It is advised you seek medical advice if you are experiencing back pain and: you are under 20 years old or over 55 years, you have taken steroids for a few months, you are a drug abuser, you have or have had cancer, or you have a low immune system due to chemotherapy or another medical condition e.g. HIV/AIDS

If the pain developed slowly but has got increasingly worse over days or weeks, ask your GP for advice.

Discuss this in the BACK PAIN Forum