Back pain is one of the most common physical complaints among adults - and a chief cause of misery for many. At some point in their lives, most people will experience some sort of back discomfort.

Back pain describes pain or discomfort felt in the upper, middle, or lower back. The pain may extend to the hips and legs as well. The back consists of a complex arrangement of bone, ligaments, joints, muscles, and nerves, and pain can result from a problem with any of these components.

The most common type of back pain is low back pain. That’s because the lower portion of the back is under the most pressure when a person is sitting or lifting, and it can be easily damaged.

There are many causes of back pain.

 
• The most common cause is a strain of the back, which is small tear of the back muscles or ligaments. This usually results from a sudden or awkward movement, or from lifting a heavy object. But often, a person can’t remember a particular incident that brought on the pain.  
• Other common causes include poor muscle tone in the back, tension or spasm of the back muscles and problems with the joints that make up the back.

Back pain can be classified as either:

 
• Acute - Sudden pain that lasts for just a short while, usually a few days to a few weeks.  
• Chronic - Pain that lasts for more than three month, or pain that recurs.

Statistics show that with simple treatment, up to 90% of people with acute back pain improve within one month and up to 60% improve within a week. Even severe back pain due to a herniated disc often resolves within six weeks, as the protruding discs begins to shrink.

Fortunately, most cases of acute low back pain improve quickly - within a few days, or sometimes within a few weeks. And in less than 5% of people the pain persists and becomes chronic.

Facts About Back Pain

 
• In the U.S., back pain competes with the common cold as the leading reason why people see a physician.  
• Back pain is the number-one cause of disability in workers under age 45.  
• Aside from the physical distress, back pain carries steep economic costs - an estimated $20 to $50 billion annually in medical treatments and disability payments.  
• Most episodes of acute back pain go away within a month.  
• Despite today’s medical technology, many forms of treatment do not affect the course of most acute low back pain episodes.  
• Only 10% of those suffering from acute back pain require special diagnostic testing.

Certain people are at higher risk for back pain, including:

 
• Those whose work includes heavy labor or long periods of sitting and standing.  
• Those who are “out of shape,” as they may have let the muscles in the abdomen and back become weak and easily fatigued, placing extra strain on the muscles and joints of the back.  
• Those who have jobs that subject their backs to a lot of vibration.  
• Those who do heavy lifting without having the proper education and training to lift correctly.  
• Those who smoke (smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to suffer from back pain).