Acute and Chronic Lower Back Pain
Pain that hits you suddenly – after falling from a ladder, being tackled on the football field, or lifting a load that is just too heavy, for example – is acute pain.
Acute pain comes on quickly and often leaves just as quickly. To be classified as acute, pain should last no longer than 6 weeks. Acute pain is the most common type of back pain.
Chronic pain, on the other hand, may come on either quickly or slowly, and it lingers a long time. In general, pain that lasts more than 3 months is considered chronic. Chronic pain is much less common than acute pain.
Acute Back Pain Treatment
Acute back pain usually gets better on its own and without treatment, although you may want to try acetaminophen, aspirin, or ibuprofen to help ease the pain. Perhaps the best advice is to go about your usual activities as much as you can with the assurance that the problem will clear up.
Getting up and moving around can help ease stiffness, relieve pain, and have you back doing your regular activities sooner. Exercises are not usually advisable for acute back pain, nor is surgery.
Chronic Back Pain Treatment
Treatment for chronic back pain falls into two basic categories: the kind that requires an operation and the kind that does not. In the vast majority of cases, back pain does not require surgery. Doctors will almost always try nonsurgical treatments before recommending surgery.
In a very small percentage of cases – when back pain is caused by a tumor, an infection, or a nerve root problem called cauda equina syndrome, for example – prompt surgery is necessary to ease the pain and prevent further problems. |
