Low Back Pain

About 1 in 6 Australia’s report having back problems, and low back pain is the most common.

Low back pain refers to the pain felt in the lower part of the spine (lumbar), it is commonly accompanied by pain in one or both legs.

Most people will have low back pain at some point in their life, and more commonly during middle or older age.

New episodes are typically brief and resolve quickly on their own. For people who do consult a health care provider, most improve rapidly within the first 6 weeks.

Recovery is slower after 6 weeks, but most people can still achieve minimal pain & disability at one year.

Recurrence is common, about 1 in 4 people who initially recover from an acute episode will have additional episodes within a year.

For a small number of patients, low back pain can become a persistent or chronic condition that recurs episodically. Once this occurs management can be more challenging with slower time to recovery.

Early appropriate management may reduce the risk of recurrence and progression to chronic low back pain.

Recommended treatment for acute low back pain includes non-invasive treatments that focus on improving function, education about the multiple factors that influence pain, self-management strategies, and limiting the use of imaging investigations.

Imaging is used mainly to rule out anything serious, but otherwise it is not very good for identifying the cause of your pain.

Treatment should support self-management and resumption of normal activities and exercise. Passive approaches such as bed rest and pain medication are not recommended as they are linked with worsening disability.

It is important to address lifestyle factors that may exacerbate symptoms such as smoking or physical inactivity.

Do not wait for all the pain to be gone before you start moving. Staying active and continuing daily activities as normally as possible (including work) leads to the most rapid and complete recovery.

And remember, for people with low back pain 75% of people get better without treatment, 25% will have further episodes, and only 1% of people have a serious cause for low back pain.