Diagnosing the Different Types of Back Pain

Diagnosing the Different Types of Back Pain

Back pain isn’t alike in every situation. Some types of back pain can be more serious. There are some autoimmune diseases that can cause long term pain in the back. This is something such as inflammatory arthritis and it needs to be managed by a doctor.

Continual lower back pain that doesn’t get better can be a sign of an infection, such as a kidney infection. But it can also be associated with endometriosis. If you have a stomach ulcer, this can cause back pain as well.

All of these situations would need medical intervention. If you have a fever associated with back pain, you need to seek help - or, if you have numbness or fever in connection with the pain.

If you have numbness in your arm, hand or foot but with no fever, this can be a sign of a pinched nerve in the back. If these symptoms don’t go away after a couple of days of home treatment, then you should seek care.

You can also experience what’s known as a bulging disc that can cause pain. This is when the jelly-like substance, which basically acts like a shock absorber, protrudes. These are often treated at home, though some can be more difficult to treat and need to be examined by a doctor.

However, the majority of back pain isn’t serious and can be treated and managed at home. That’s because most back pain stems from lifestyle decisions. If you’re someone
who has bad posture and you’ve never taken steps to correct it, eventually, this can lead to back pain.

When you don’t sit or stand correctly, what happens is your body weight is not evenly distributed across the spine. So you end up with areas of weakness due to the load the muscles are trying to support...