What causes lower back pain and when is it serious?
Most lower back pain is mechanical, coming from muscles, ligaments and discs objecting to load, posture marathons or sudden effort. It improves within weeks with movement, not bed rest. Staying active is the treatment; bed rest prolongs it.
Heat, simple pain relief and gradually resuming life outperform anxiety and scans, which usually show incidental findings even in the pain-free.
The rare urgent versions announce themselves: numbness in the saddle area, new bladder or bowel trouble, leg weakness, fever, unexplained weight loss, cancer history, or pain after significant trauma. Those need immediate care; the rest need patience and walking.
Source: NHS, back pain
See a doctor promptly if
- New difficulty passing urine, loss of bladder or bowel control, or numbness around the genitals or between the legs: go to emergency now
- Back pain with fever, chills, or recent serious infection or injection drug use
- Back pain after a significant fall or accident, or any fall in someone with osteoporosis or long-term steroid use
- Back pain with unexplained weight loss, a history of cancer, or pain that is constant and worse at night
- New weakness in a leg or foot, such as a foot that slaps or drags
Try the symptom diary10 seconds a day, free, nothing to installThe first question in the room is when, how often and what came before it. A dated week answers all three.
Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS · How we review
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