Since lower back pain has a range of causes it can be hard to determine without the assistance of a medical professional, however, the two most common causes of lower back pain are disc pain and muscle strain pain. They do have overlapping symptoms in the sense you will feel pain in your lower back, muscle pain caused from strains will normally feel dull and ache whereas pain from discs will be more of a sharp pain and can radiate to other parts of the back like the shoulders and upper back. Since discs in the spine work as a cushioning mechanism for the bones, when they protrude or begin to protrude they will put pressure on the spinal cord which causes pain. Poor posture and repetitive movements can also cause back pain that can appear similar to pain brought on by muscular strains. Other causes of lower back pain can be from not stretching properly before doing movements, overexertion from moving things or doing things you don’t normally do, and accidents such as falling or doing a twisting movement that could strain the muscles or injure the discs in the back. Since so many of these things can lead to injuries involving the discs and muscles, it is always worth seeing a pain specialist like Andrew Morchower, MD, MPH, to determine the cause of your pain and how to avoid further injury.