Back pain remains one of the most common reasons for doctor visits and sickness at work. It is also one of the leading causes of disability across the world. Although it is a severe condition, the good news is you can easily prevent or treat most cases of back pain. If you suffer from back pain, you can quickly treat the condition with simple home treatment measures and proper body mechanics. In some cases, you may experience back pain as a symptom of more severe disease. If that is the case, you may need to seek medication from a Shrewsbury back pain specialist. The same applies if your back pain does not get better after a few weeks of home treatment.

Symptoms

Back pain comes in many different forms. It can range from a minor muscle ache to a sharp burning or stabbing sensation. The pain may radiate down your leg or get worse when you bend, twist, lift, stand or walk. Most cases of back pain get better after a few weeks of self-care and home treatment.

You should consider visiting a doctor if your back pain persists for several weeks, even after trying different home treatment methods. Other reasons to see a doctor for back pain include:

• Severe pain that does not get better after rest
• A pain the project down one or both legs, especially if it goes below the knee
• It causes numbness, tingling, or weakness in one or both legs
• It causes unexplained weight loss

In some cases, you may experience back pain due to a more serious medical condition. You should seek immediate medical care if your back pain:

• Causes new bladder or bowel problems
• Comes with a fever
• It comes after an injury to your back

Causes

In most cases, you will experience back pain due to poor posture or muscle strains. Other common conditions associated with back pain include:

• Muscle or ligament strain due to sudden awkward movement or repeated heavy lifting. If you are in poor physical condition, constantly straining your back can result in painful muscle spasms.
• Bulging or ruptured discs. Discs provide a cushion between the vertebrae in your spine. The soft material inside the disc can rupture or put pressure on nearby nerves. You can also have ruptured or bulging discs without experiencing any back pain. The doctor can identify disc disease through spine x-rays for a different condition.
• Osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis can impact the lower back by crossing the space around the spinal cord too narrow in a condition known as stenosis.
• Osteoporosis. This is a condition where the vertebrae in your spine develop painful fractures when your bones become brittle and porous.

You are more likely to experience back pain as you grow older, in a poor physical condition, have excess body weight, experience psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression, or have diseases such as some forms of cancer and arthritis.

To summarize, back pain is a common condition that affects millions of people across the world. Common back pain symptoms include a minor muscle ache or stabbing sensation that may radiate down your leg or worsen when you stand or walk. Common causes of back pain include muscle or ligament strain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and bulging or ruptured discs.