One of the most common questions I get is…..

“Please help with my back pain”

If you’ve never needed back pain help before, chances are 8 out of 10 you will. Getting help for your back pain is second only to the common cold when it comes to healthcare provider visits in the United States. And it’s right at the top of the list of occupational health hazards.

Although help for your back pain is readily available, terminology and methods used can be confusing at first. Here we’ll demystify some of the common back pain terms and diagnosis methods you’ll run into along the way as you seek help for your back pain.

Getting back pain help: Types of back pain

All back pain is classified as either acute or chronic back pain.

Acute back pain – Indicates a sudden onset of pain, typically with severe lower back pain and limited mobility

Chronic back pain – Chronic back pain refers to lower back pain or acute back pain episodes recurring for more than three months

Getting back pain help: Common back pain terms

You’ll likely hear one or more of these terms used as you seek back pain help at your healthcare provider.

Onset – How the pain begins: either acute (sudden) or insidious (gradually increasing pain over a longer period of time – days or longer)

Frequency / Duration – How often the pain happens and how long it lasts

Recurrence – Back pain with intervals of no pain in between episodes

Persistence – Back pain with pain always present

Location – Where it hurts – the spot on your body where pain is felt

Intensity – Your estimate of how bad the pain is on a scale of 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain of your life)

Getting back pain help: Steps to diagnosis

During your search for help with your back pain, when you ask almost any healthcare provider to “help with my back pain,” they will start with one or more of these diagnostic methods to better enable them to provide accurate help for your back pain.

Medical history – You’ll usually need to answer a number of questions related to your personal and family medical histories in addition to questions specific to your back pain

Physical examination – A physical evaluation to assess various postures and movements ranges and related back pain symptoms

Neurological testing – Testing with particular attention to reflexes, muscle strength, and general nervous system and circulatory system conditions

Diagnostic testing – Internal examinations including x-rays, MRIs, CAT scans, etc.

Getting Treatment – You should first research what might be causing your pain and once you have identified the causes you can treat them. In the meanwhile check out this video on how to eliminate back pain at work

If you suffer from back pain and would like to learn how to get relief, check out some of our back pain videos now.

Jesse Cannone