Back pain is common and usually lasts for a short time. There are steps you can take to ease the symptoms and prevent future problems. The most common type of back pain is pain in the lumbar spine (lower back) as this area bears the stress of your weight throughout the day.
Many people have lower back pain at some point in their lives but few are caused by a chronic medical problem. Lower back pain often clears within 2 – 6 weeks and can be separated into 2 categories:
- Mechanical pain – caused by degeneration (wear and tear) of parts of the lumbar spine
- Neurogenic pain – occurs when spinal nerves are swollen, squeezed or pinched