Back Pain Symptoms

Severe Back Pain

Back pain symptoms provide important information that helps back pain specialists, such as physiatrists, to accurately diagnose and treat severe back pain. Thus, it is important to take note of any back pain symptoms that you experience and accurately describe those feelings to a doctor. Common back pain symptoms to take note of include: sharp, shooting, or radiating pain in the spinal cord, lower back, or down the leg; numbness and tingling in the lower back or any extremities, and tightness or aching sensations in the muscles. In some cases, people experiencing back pain may also lose control of their fine motor skills and coordination. Whether you suffer from acute pain or more chronic pain, describing your back pain symptoms to a doctor can help to diagnose, and then treat and alleviate severe back pain.

Chronic Back Pain

There are many causes – and back pain symptoms – associated with chronic back pain. Some back pain is due to injury or damage to spinal vertebrae while pinched nerves may cause other types of lower back pain. Sciatica, or sciatic nerve pain, for example, is a common form of back pain that is caused by compression or irritation of a lumbar nerve. Sometimes, herniated discs or other spinal injuries in the lower back can lead to sciatica. Two of the major back pain symptoms that people with sciatica experience are lower back pain and pain down the leg. The sciatic nerve connects nerve fibers to the leg and thus any pressure on this nerve can cause sharp or shooting pain. People suffering from chronic back pain due to spinal stenosis, the narrowing of the spinal canal, may also feel sharp or tingling pain in their legs. On occasion, these types of pains extend down to the feet or even into the buttocks. Anyone experiencing these or similar back pain symptoms should visit a physiatrist to have the pain examined.

Head and neck pain, as well as arm pain, are other common back pain symptoms that lead people to seek medical help. Often times, people who experience pain in these areas do not automatically associate their discomfort with problems in their spinal cord. However, the spine is composed of bones, joints, discs, muscles and ligaments; injuring any of these components could cause back pain to occur in any of the inter-connected areas of the body, including the head, neck, or limbs. For example, a pinched nerve may send shooting pains through a patient's arm, leading to limited range of motions. If your back pain symptoms worsen when you lift, twist, or bend, it may be a sign of spinal trouble. Physiatrists can treat the majority of these back pain symptoms without back surgery. In fact, epidural steroid injections are the most common treatment option for those experiencing severe back pain or neck pain. If you think that you may be able to benefit from an epidural injection or are simply looking for a way to relieve your back pain symptoms, make an appointment to visit our physiatrist's office today.