How to Identify Back Pain

Doctors no longer regard back pain as a catch-all phrase for everything from passing numbness in the legs to radiating symptoms that confine you to bed rest for weeks. And they no longer treat all back pains the same. That's why identifying the specific kind of back pain can significantly affect whether and how quickly you find relief. You can start by becoming aware of when the pain appears and where it is located.

Instructions

• 1

  Know that doctors divided back pain into two main types: acute and chronic. The first question to ask if you are feeling back pain is whether you have been injured recently. Then try to remember if your back pain started after that injury. If so, chances are that your back pain is acute.

• 2

  Pay attention to certain symptoms of acute back pain. For example, do you feel numbness in your leg? Or does it seem that pain is traveling down your leg? If so, you have the kind of back pain that is caused by a herniated disc.

• 3

  Consider whether you are over age 60 and also suffer from arthritis. If you have a sudden onset of severe back pain, then assume you have the kind of back pain that results from a fractured cervical or lumbar spine.

• 4

  Decide whether you experience back pain only when performing certain movements, such as bending or sitting. If so, your back pain is considered to be a muscle spasm.

• 5

  Focus on back pain that has persisted---intermittently---for more than one year. Some chronic back pains are considered to be the spondylolisthesis variety. Others are the spondylosis type, which means they are related to arthritis.

• 6

  Ask yourself whether you have had these symptoms: fever, blood in the urine, back pain on one side of your body and a burning sensation when urinating? If so, your back pain is the pyelonephritis type. Or it could be the type of back pain caused by kidney stones.

• 7

  Recognize the symptoms of arthritis-type back pain, another chronic form. If your back feels sore and stiff in the morning, your back pain is likely arthritic or a type known as ankylosing spondylitis.

• 8

  Find the location of your back pain. Does it seem to center at your lower spine? Is it associated with pain radiating down one or both legs? If so, your chronic back pain is known as spinal stenosis.