Types, causes and symptoms
 
There are two ways of describing pain depending on the length of time you have had it and what is going on in your body’s nervous system. 
 
How long have you had the pain?  
 
Acute  
Pain that generally lasts less than three months. Acute episodes of back pain are remarkably common, with about 90% of cases resolving within six weeks. Usually from an easily identifiable cause, such as damage from too much lifting.  
 
Chronic  
Pain that you’ve had for more than three months.  
 
What type of pain is it?  
 
Nociceptive  
Nociceptive pain is your body's way of reminding you that you have an injury and need to take care. This type of back pain is usually caused by inflammation or damage to the muscles, bones and ligaments that support your back.  
 
Neuropathic  
Neuropathic pain occurs when an injury causes nerves to send abnormal pain signals to the brain. Although you may have injured your back, you may feel pain in another part of your body such as your arm or calf. This type of pain, wherever it is felt, is often described as shooting or burning and feeling numb, cold or weak.  
 
Depending on your injury, you could have a mixture of both types of pain.  
 
Causes of back pain 
Many people with back pain simply suffer in silence. They assume that it's just old age or the result of lazy posture and that they have to live with it. While these may be part of the reason for your pain, back pain is very occasionally a sign of a serious condition. However, most back pain has a more common cause: 
 
Muscle strain or spasms caused from exertion such as using a weight at the gym that is too heavy or doing too much of a particular activity. This type of back pain is mostly preventable.  
 
Injuries from accidents or other unanticipated events frequently cause back pain. Examples include a broken bone, fracture or torn ligament.
 
Arthritis affects the joints and bones and there are many different types. Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease.

• Osteoarthritis
  Osteoarthritis occurs when the connective tissue (or cartilage) between the bones wastes away over time and causes the bones in the joint to rub against each other. Joints in the hands, back, knees and hips are most commonly affected.

Other types of arthritis include:

• Rheumatoid Arthritis
  Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful condition, can cause severe disability and affects a person's ability to carry out everyday tasks. The disease can progress very rapidly, causing swelling and damaging cartilage and bone around the joints. It commonly affects the hands, feet and wrists but any joint (including the back) can be affected.
  
  
• Ankylosing Spondylitis
  Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a painful, progressive, rheumatic disease. It mainly affects the spine but it can also affect other joints, tendons and ligaments. Other areas, such as the eyes, lungs, bowel and heart can also be involved. AS affects approximately 1 in 200 men and 1 in 500 women in Britain. It typically strikes people in their late teens and twenties, with the average age being 24. However, symptoms can start at other periods of life.

Osteoporosis, which leads to porous and brittle bones, can cause painful compression fractures in the vertebra.

A herniated lumbar disc is a displacement of disc material and is most common in people aged 30-50 years. Discs are made from cushioning material and they lie between each vertebrae. The lumbar vertebrae make up your lower back.

Fibromyalgia is a condition causing chronic and widespread pain and lack of mobility.  
 
Malignant and benign growths can cause pressure on nerves resulting in severe pain. This is a much less common cause of back pain.  
 
Back pain symptoms  
 
You can feel back pain anywhere along your spine, but most people feel it in the lower back.  
 
With acute pain, at the time of injury you may have had the nasty feeling of something ‘going’ in your back. This can lead to days – even weeks – of agonising muscle spasms. Or, you may simply have an ache that doesn’t go away. Back pain can be hard to diagnose if there is no obvious injury. If the pain continues for more than a few days you should see your GP. The earlier the diagnosis, the more opportunities there are to reduce your pain.  
 
Keep a pain diary to help with your diagnosis.