And discs can be slipped without causing any pain at all. But there are large amounts of muscle in the back which are continually susceptible to injury, causing back or even leg pain. Often, people who have pain, do not even realize when it is coming from the muscles. Or, people who have pain do not realize that painful muscles are making their symptoms worse. Muscles are injured by both sudden strains, and repetitive injury over the years.
Muscle pain can arise from both acute injury and chronic strain.
Both the weekend tennis player, and the person who works for hours and years at a computer, can experience similar neck and shoulder pain. An important aspect of myofascial pain is the Pain Cycle. The pain cycle helps to explain why pain sometimes spreads or worsens over time. If you sprain your neck, you might change the angle of your spine. This might cause some back pain.