How do I know what type of back injury I have?
How do I know what type of back injury I have?
How Is Back Pain Diagnosed?
- X-rays, which can be used to provide detail of the bone structures in the spine and to check for instability (such as spondylolisthesis, see below), tumors, and fractures.
- CT scans, which can identify specific conditions, such as a herniated disc or spinal stenosis.
What does it feel like when you have a slipped disc in your back?
If you have a herniated lumbar disc, you may feel pain that radiates from your low back area, down one or both legs, and sometimes into your feet (called sciatica). You may feel a pain like an electric shock that is severe whether you stand, walk, or sit.
How do I know if I’ve slipped a disc?
Check if it’s a slipped disc
- lower back pain.
- numbness or tingling in your shoulders, back, arms, hands, legs or feet.
- neck pain.
- problems bending or straightening your back.
- muscle weakness.
- pain in the buttocks, hips or legs if the disc is pressing on the sciatic nerve (sciatica)
Can a slipped disc cause severe lower back pain?
Slipped Disc Prolapsed Disc. A ‘slipped’ (prolapsed) disc often causes sudden, severe lower back pain. The disc often presses on a nerve root which can cause pain and other symptoms in a leg. In most cases, the symptoms ease off gradually over several weeks. The usual advice is to carry on as normal as much as possible.
What causes severe pain in the lower back?
A common cause of pain in the back is muscle strain. Watch: Lower Back Strain Video The intensity and manageability of pain are very different for every person. For example, one person with a herniated disc may experience excruciating pain while another person with the same condition has no symptoms at all.
How to tell if your lower back pain is muscle or disc related?
Lower back disc pain symptoms include: The above symptoms could indicate the progression of the condition. A “tingling in your toes” is something to watch; depending on the context and the patient’s history it may be enough to do an MRI.
What causes numbness and pain in lower back?
In the lower back (lumbar spine), radicular pain may travel into the leg. Other terms for radicular pain are sciatica or radiculopathy (when accompanied by weakness and/or numbness). It can be caused by conditions such as a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, or spondylolisthesis.
What causes pain in the lower back and legs?
If the pain is shooting from the lower back into one or both legs, it could be sciatica (nerve pain), but it’s not always the case. There are many parts in the lower back that may cause the pain to radiate into the legs, such as facet joints, sacroiliac joints, muscles or inflammation of the bursa.
Is it normal to have pain in your lower back?
Lower back pain can radiate to other parts of the body: up or down from its place of origin. Sometimes lower back pain can be on one side of the back, which is also normal. If the pain is shooting from the lower back into one or both legs, it could be sciatica (nerve pain), but it’s not always the case.
Can a disc problem cause lower back pain?
Disc problems sometimes put pressure on the nerves that travel through the spine and could be the cause of a number of issues. Lower back disc pain symptoms include: The above symptoms could indicate the progression of the condition.
What causes pain in the lower back after a fall?
As the cartilage breaks down between the spinal joints, surrounding tissues may become inflamed. The inflammation and the thinning of cartilage increase friction in the joints, which may cause pain in the lower back. A bad fall or a car accident can cause a lower back injury.