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Give it time. Schedule an appointment with your doctor. Get a referral to a specialist. Understand the cause of your backache.
Most achy backs caused by overwork or minor accidents (such as slip and falls) resolve on their own with a few days or so. As such, if the pain isn't severe, have some patience and the likelihood of your backache going away is actually pretty good with or without any kind of treatment. Severe pain combined with numbness or tingling in the legs is often a sign of a serious back injury. It's important to seek professional help if your back pain also involves trouble urinating, fever or unintentional weight loss. If you develop back pain that won't go away after a few days of taking it easy, then schedule an appointment with your family physician. Your doctor will examine your back (spine) and ask questions about your family history, diet and lifestyle, and maybe even take X-rays or send you for a blood test (to rule out rheumatoid arthritis or a spinal infection). However, your family doctor is not a musculoskeletal or spinal specialist, so you may need a referral to another doctor with more specialized training. Your family doctor may recommend over-the-counter anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen, or analgesics (pain killers) such as acetaminophen to help you cope with your backache. Consider seeing a specialist if your backache is not relieved by rest and medications. Mechanical low back pain is not considered a serious medical condition, although it can be very painful and debilitating, causing you to miss work or athletic activities. Typical causes include muscle strains, spinal joint sprains, spinal nerve irritation and spinal disc degeneration. However, medical specialists such as an orthopedist, neurologist or rheumatologist may be needed to rule out the most serious causes such as infection (osteomyelitis), cancer, osteoporosis, spinal fracture, herniated disc, kidney disease or rheumatoid arthritis. X-rays, bone scans, MRI, CT scan and ultrasound are modalities that specialists may use to help diagnose your backache. The low back, or lumbar region, is more susceptible to injury and pain because it supports the weight of the upper body. Make sure you get the doctor to clearly explain the diagnosis, especially the cause (if possible), and provide you with various treatment options for your condition. Only the most serious causes of back pain require surgical intervention, which is quite rare. Sometimes mild backaches resolve on their own within a few days, but for more debilitating back pain, treatment is recommended because it will likely reduce the duration of the pain and lower the risk of a recurrent (chronic) problem. Pain from mechanical back pain can be severe, but it doesn't involve high fevers, rapid weight loss, bladder / bowel problems or loss of leg function, which are all signs of something more serious. Common causes of backache include poor posture, improper lifting technique, obesity, sedentary lifestyle and mild trauma from athletic activities.