Next to the common cold, back pain is probably the most common reason patients give for visiting the doctor's office. Understanding back pain can be the first step to recovery. Dr. Ira Fedder, orthopaedic spine surgeon at Orthopaedic Associates, answers some frequently asked questions about back pain.
Most people have back pain without any identifiable cause.
There is frequently no history of a specific injury or trauma. If there is an identifiable event, it is not unusual for the pain to begin 24 hours later. Because of the location of those structures, it is hard to tell which structure actually hurts. This is a logical assumption, however it doesn't have to be true in the case of back pain. A person who sees a back specialist may get an x-ray on the first visit.