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Back pain (also known "dorsalgia") is pain
felt in the back that usually originates from the muscles, nerves, bones,
joints or other structures in the spine.
The pain can often be divided into neck pain, upper back pain, lower back
pain or tailbone pain. It may have a sudden onset or can be a chronic pain;
it can be constant or intermittent, stay in one place or radiate to other
areas. It may be a dull ache, or a sharp or piercing or burning sensation.
The pain may be radiate into the arm and hand), in the upper back, or in the
low back, (and might radiate into the leg or foot), and may include symptoms
other than pain, such as weakness, numbness or tingling.
Back pain is one of humanity's most frequent complaints. In the U.S., acute
low back pain (also called lumbago) is the fifth most common reason for
physician visits. About nine out of ten adults experience back pain at some
point in their life, and five out of ten working adults have back pain every
year.[1]
The spine is a complex interconnecting network of nerves, joints, muscles,
tendons and ligaments, and all are capable of producing pain. Large nerves
that originate in the spine and go to the legs and arms can make pain
radiate to the extremities.
Associated conditions
Back pain can be a sign of a serious medical problem, although this is not
most frequently the underlying cause:
* Typical warning signs of a potentially life-threatening problem are bowel
and/or bladder incontinence or progressive weakness in the legs.
* Severe back pain (such as pain that is bad enough to interrupt sleep) that
occurs with other signs of severe illness (e.g. fever, unexplained weight
loss) may also indicate a serious underlying medical condition.
* Back pain that occurs after a trauma, such as a car accident or fall may
indicate a bone fracture or other injury.
* Back pain in individuals with medical conditions that put them at high
risk for a spinal fracture, such as osteoporosis or multiple myeloma, also
warrants prompt medical attention.
* Back pain in individuals with a history of cancer (especially cancers
known to spread to the spine like breast, lung and prostate cancer) should
be evaluated to rule out metastatic disease of the spine.
Back pain does not usually require immediate medical intervention. The vast
majority of episodes of back pain are self-limiting and non-progressive.
Most back pain syndromes are due to inflammation, especially in the acute
phase, which typically lasts for two weeks to three months.
A few observational studies suggest that two conditions to which back pain
is often attributed, lumbar disc herniation and degenerative disc disease
may not be more prevalent among those in pain than among the general
population, and that the mechanisms by which these conditions might cause
pain are not known.[2][3][4][5] Other studies suggest that for as many as
85% of cases, no physiological cause can be shown.[6][7]
A few studies suggest that psychosocial factors such as on-the-job stress
and dysfunctional family relationships may correlate more closely with back
pain than structural abnormalities revealed in x-rays and other medical
imaging scans.
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