Low Back Pain Healing Your Aching Back: Back Pain

Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School

Low Back Pain: Healing your aching back

Low back pain is ubiquitous, affecting roughly four in five Americans at some point in their lives. It's the fifth most common reason for visiting a doctor, one of the top reasons people miss work, and the most common cause of work-related disability in people under age 45.

In spite of being so common, low back pain remains something of a medical puzzle. Even after extensive tests, physicians often can't pinpoint an exact cause. Many people with low back pain visit one doctor after another only to come away with conflicting opinions. Most cases of back pain are ultimately classified as "idiopathic," meaning they have no known cause — yet the pain is all too real to the person affected.

Why is low back pain such an enigma? It is important to understand that back pain does not describe a single entity. Instead, back pain is an umbrella term that includes a number of discrete medical conditions that can vary in severity. In fact, some of these conditions don't even originate in the back.

The way that you manage your symptoms will also depend on the type of low back condition you have and whether the pain is acute (that is, it comes on suddenly but will likely get better in a matter of weeks) or chronic (lasting more than three months with no improvement or even getting progressively worse).

One thing is clear, whether your back pain is acute or chronic: To regain your get-up-and-go, you need to do just that — become active, at least within reason. An extended stay in bed, for instance, won't help your recovery and may actually hinder it.

And as is often the case in medicine, the more active a role you play in your treatment plan, the better your recovery is likely to be. This Special Health Report will help you to become an active participant in your care. It provides in-depth information about how your back works, the most common causes of low back pain, diagnostic tests and procedures, and the most effective techniques to treat particular back problems. Armed with the information provided in this report, you'll be better able to work with your physician to solve the mystery of your ailing back and get on the mend.

Just remember that no matter what back pain management strategy you choose, patience and perseverance — sprinkled with as much humor as you can muster — are your best allies.

Last updated:	January 23, 2007