The above-fifty population is more likely to have back pain from osteoarthritis, a common condition that effects the joints. Patients over sixty may experience spinal stenosis, a condition in which the spinal canal, which contains and protects the spinal cord and nerve roots, narrows and pinches the spinal cord and nerves. Patients complain of pain that radiates into the buttocks and thighs when they begin to walk. At first, this may occur after a few blocks but over time it may occur after less than half a block of walking. Knowing whether the pain is acute or chronic can help to get us closer to a diagnosis.
Acute pain occurs for at most a few weeks, and is more likely to be mechanical in nature.
Chronic pain may also be mechanically induced initially from an injury that was never properly rested and therefore never fully healed. Although inflammatory conditions of the back are uncommon, they are not rare, and are frequently misdiagnosed as mechanical back pain and therefore treated incorrectly. There are a number of conditions associated with inflammation, and it is important to identify them, since treatment is markedly different than for the far more common mechanical conditions. In young patients who may have hurt themselves playing sports, this sensation may be the sign of an unstable back with structural problems in the bones or soft tissues. This symptom may indicate gluteal bursitis.