Low Back Pain

Overview :

Low back pain is a symptom that affects 80% of the general United States population at some point in life with sufficient severity to cause absence from work. It is the second most common reason for visits to primary care doctors, and is estimated to cost the American economy $75 billion every year.

Low back pain may be experienced in several different ways:

• Localized. In localized pain the patient will feel soreness or discomfort when the doctor palpates, or presses on, a specific surface area of the lower back.
• Diffuse. Diffuse pain is spread over a larger area and comes from deep tissue layers.
• Radicular. The pain is caused by irritation of a nerve root. Sciatica is an example of radicular pain.
• Referred. The pain is perceived in the lower back but is caused by inflammation elsewhere'often in the kidneys or lower abdomen.
  
  

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