What Are The Different Types Of Back Pain?

As we all know, back pain can be difficult to both diagnose and treat. There are numerous possible causes of back pain and there’s a wide range of treatments that may or may not work for the same condition.

Here are several insights which you may find helpful in your journey to finding the treatment approach that works for you:

1. Back pain is complicated, personal experience

The intensity of back pain is different for every person.
For example, you may have a herniated disc and experience no pain while the other person may have a simple muscle strain that causes excruciating pain. Also, with some back conditions, your pain can flare up then quickly subside only to come back after a few weeks or months. It is only you who know your level of pain. Thus, your treatment will likely be more successful if you proactively participate in making decisions about your medical care.

2. Numerous structures in your back can cause pain

Many interconnected structures in your spine are capable of causing back pain.  Moreover, your spine is prone to injury because it’s subject to strong forces like twisting, sudden jolts and daily stresses like excessive sitting and poor posture.

3. The underlying causes of back pain can be hard to identify

There are significant overlap of nerve supply to most of the anatomical structures in your spine which makes it hard for your brain to distinguish between injury to one structure versus another. For this reason, your physician will often begin the process of identifying the source of your pain by taking a thorough medical history and conducting a physical exam. Your physician will also discuss your symptoms with you and he may conduct diagnostic tests such as an x-ray or MRI scan.

4. Knowing how to describe your pain is important

Accurately describing the type of pain you’re experiencing and identifying the area of distribution of your pain can help your doctor determine the cause of your pain. This is essential because your treatment will usually differ depending on your diagnosis.

Common classifications of back pain include:

Axial pain – also known as “mechanical pain”. It can be described in many ways such as sharp or dull. Muscle strain is a common cause of axial pain

Referred Pain – often characterized as dull and achy. It tends to move around and vary in intensity. Degenerative disc disease in your lower back may cause referred pain to your hips and posterior thighs

Radicular Pain – typically described as deep and searing pain. Radicular pain follows a path of a nerve in to your arm or a leg and may be accompanied by numbness or weakness. This type of pain is caused by conditions that compressed a spinal root like a herniated disc or spinal stenosis.

5. Your back pain is real even if no anatomical cause is found

Even after several tests, there may be no obvious anatomical cause of your back pain. If that’s the case, your pain still needs to be treated and there are variety of non-surgical options that help alleviate or manage your pain. Also, factors such as depression and sleeplessness can make your condition worse. That’s why these factors need to be addressed as part of a comprehensive treatment plan.

Remember that participating in the decision making process about your medical care can help you have a better outcome. And by understanding the different types of back pain, you are better equipped to be part of this process.

If you suffer from lower back pain or experiencing any spinal problem and ready to end the crisis, then Spine Specialist Global is happy to give you a FREE Consultation plus x-rays if needed with one of their Spine Specialists (Valued @ $200)