Back pain history and symptoms
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Zehra Malik, M.B.B.S[2]
Overview
History
- In general, back pain does not usually require immediate medical intervention.
- Mostly cases due to inflammation, especially in the acute phase, which typically lasts for two weeks to three months and resolves on its own without progressing.
- In few cases back pain can be a symptom of a serious medical condition. Symptoms to look for include:
- bowel incontinence
- bladder incontinence
- Progressive weakness in legs
- Sleep interrupted due to severe back pain
- Fever
- Unexplained weight loss
- Back pain due to trauma
- Increased back pain in patients with osteoporosis or multiple myeloma
- Repetitive intense excercise involving lumbar extension
Symptoms
It is important to understand that back pain is a symptom of a medical condition, not a diagnosis itself. Back pain may occur by itself, or along with other symptoms. Symptoms include severe low back pain that may be accompanied by muscle spasm, pain with walking, concentration of pain to one side, and no radiculopathy (radiating pain down buttock and leg). Relief should be felt with flexion (bending forward),and exacerbated with extension (bending backward). Transient back pain is likely one of the first symptoms of influenza. Back pain is categorized into acute pain and chronic pain. Pain that hits you suddenly—after falling from a ladder, being tackled on the football field, or lifting a load that is too heavy, for example—is acute pain. Acute pain comes on quickly and often leaves just as quickly. To be classified as acute, pain should last no longer than 6 weeks. Acute pain is the most common type of back pain. Chronic pain, on the other hand, may come on either quickly or slowly, and it lingers a long time. In general, pain that lasts longer than 3 months is considered chronic. Chronic pain is much less common than acute pain.