There are several serious and acute causes of low back pain, which you need to watch out for. These include trauma, urine or bowel difficulties, numbness, motor deficits, and several others. Keep reading to find out whether you should worry about low back pain.
Low back pain is the 5th most common reason that drive people to the doctor ‘s office. It’s also typically a benign and self-limiting condition. However, there are some uncommon but more serious causes of low back pain. So how do you know when you should worry about it? What are some of those concerning red flags? How can you best prepare for your doctor’s visit? And how can you treat lower back pain?
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
I will address these questions and more in a two-part episode dedicated to this highly common medical ailment.
Let’s take Lori as an example. She’s a 46-year-old female bakery owner who came to see me for three days of low back pain, severe enough to prevent her from working. Lori is very healthy and rarely comes in to see me, so I knew she must not be well if she’d visited the office. What happened to Lori? And how can we help fix her lower back?
Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.
When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.
Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber
Thank you,
Jeanna Bryner, Editor in Chief, Scientific American
