Most people experience back pain at some point in their lives and like all pain, it affects every aspect of your daily life. Back pain is one of the most common reasons people seek treatment with an osteopathic physician.
Back pain symptoms are often described as deep muscle aches, or shooting or stabbing pains in the back. Some people may experience pain that radiates down one or both legs. Underlying causes such as bulging, degenerative or herniated discs can be debilitating. Other causes may be structural or muscular imbalance.
We break pain into two groups: acute and chronic.
Acute back pain means back pain that comes on suddenly and lasts no longer than six weeks.
Chronic back pain means back pain that lasts more than three months. Chronic back pain often develops without an obvious reason and your doctor may need to conduct tests or imaging studies to help identify the underlying cause.
