----a sudden onset(called as Acute back pain) 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 radiate into the arms and hands as well as the legs or feet, and may include symptoms other than pain, such as weakness, numbness or tingling.

Back Pain is most frequent complaints in patient population of any clinic.

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.

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.

Back pain can be divided anatomically: neck pain, middle back pain, lower back pain or tailbone pain.

 

Nonspecific back pain, back pain with radiculopathy or spinal stenosis, and back pain associated with another specific cause (such as infection or cancer).

Non specific pain indicates that the cause is not known precisely] but is believed to be due from the soft tissues such as muscles, fascia, and ligaments.

Back pain is classified according to etiology in mechanical or nonspecific back pain and secondary back pain. Approximately 98% of back pain patients are diagnosed with nonspecific acute back pain which has no serious underlying pathology. However, secondary back pain which is caused by an underlying condition accounts for nearly 2% of the cases. Underlying pathology in these cases may include metastatic cancer, spinal osteomyelitis and epidural abscess which account for 1% of the patients. Also, herniated disc is the most common neurologic impairment which is associated with this condition, from which 95% of disc herniations occur at the lowest two lumbar intervertebral levels

About 50% of women experience low back pain during pregnancy. Back pain in pregnancy may be severe enough to cause significant pain and disability and pre-dispose patients to back pain in a following pregnancy.