Lower back pain is very common and is likely to affect the majority of the population at some point in their lives. Pain can spread both up the back and often into the buttock or down a leg. Fortunately, back pain tends from days, to a few weeks, to a couple months and so this short episode is referred to as "acute lower back pain". There are multiple reasons it can arise and multiple things that can be done to help.
For pain that persists longer than three months; consider looking here.
Back pain is often unspecific meaning there is not necessarily one specific structure that is responsible for your pain. Equally, abnormalities such as "bulging discs" are often found in people without pain and therefore don't always cause an issue. As a result, scanning spines is not routine. Without the clinical presentation and assessment they could be misleading and therefore it is more often used to support a clinical concern.
Warning: If you have new symptoms that refer down both legs, any issues with your bladder/bowels, a loss of power in your legs, or loss of sensation in and around the saddle region you should go to your local Accident & Emergency department.
Factors contributing to the development and persistence of lower back pain include;
The National institute for health (NICE) sets guidelines of the best methods/things you can do to help your back pain. This includes;
Further info can be found here: www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mindfulness/
Additional information about back pain with referred leg pain can be found here: British Association of Spine Surgeons - Nerve Root Pain and Some of the Treatment Options.
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