For each different cause of back pain, there are particular positions that will be most uncomfortable. This is an important clue in diagnosing the problem. Disc injury is more probable in those under fifty with acute back pain. 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.