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Acute & Chronic Back Pain

Acute back pain and chronic back pain are two different symptoms, but both ailments can stop you from important activities like work, taking care of yourself and your family, and living the full life you deserve.

Acute back pain refers to pain that lasts a short period of time. While acute back pain can be an intense, sharp, and shooting pain, it generally lasts a few days or a few weeks. Causes of acute pain might be a car accident, sports injury, or sleeping in an awkward position.

Chronic back pain, on the other hand, is back pain that has lasted more than three months. Often, but not always, this type of pain is a dull, throbbing pain. Chronic back pain also can become progressively worse over time, and since it is a persistent pain that could indicate a serious or life-threatening condition, it’s important to see a doctor who can determine the cause of the discomfort.

Acute or chronic back pain are conditions that will affect the majority of Americans at some point in their lives. Often, chronic low back pain will begin to surface in a person’s middle-aged years and will cause individuals to miss days from work. There are, however, a variety of treatment options available so that the discomfort of back pain symptoms does not have to be a way of life.

The first step to combating acute or chronic back pain is to educate yourself about the many conditions that can cause these symptoms.? Our cervical (neck), thoracic (middle), and lumbar (lower) spinal regions are made up of a series of 24 individual vertebrae, and each vertebra is separated from the ones above and below by a padded disc, called an intervertebral disc. These discs absorb tension and stress from the daily activities our backs and necks endure. As we age, however, the soft discs can begin to degenerate, rupture, and shift. On either side of your vertebrae there are open spaces, called foramina, through which spinal nerves travel on their way to other parts of the body. If a damaged disc impinges on this neural passageway and constricts the nerves, pain will result. Other issues that could lead to acute or chronic back pain are herniated disc, bulging disc, bone spurs, arthritis, a sports injury, or improper body mechanics.

Acute and chronic back pain symptoms depend on the location of your spinal damage, but can include the following:

• Lower back pain – Disc damage in the lumbar region of the spine can affect nerves that control sensation in the legs, buttocks, and feet. You may experience pain that shoots down one leg, called sciatica, due to pressure on the sciatic nerve in the lower back.
• Thoracic back pain – Patients may feel pain in the area of the rib cage because the middle vertebrae attach directly to the ribs. Numbness or tingling may occur. In severe cases, patients experience spinal deformities.
• Upper back pain – The cervical region of the spine encompasses the upper back and neck. Damage to a cervical vertebra will result in pain, tingling, or loss of feeling in the neck, shoulders, arms, and hands. Since these vertebrae link the spine to the head, problems with head-neck coordination can occur.

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If a thorough examination prompts your doctor to diagnose you with acute or chronic back pain, let the experts at Laser Spine Institute (LSI) introduce you to our minimally-invasive, endoscopic procedures that have helped tens of thousands of people rediscover a life without pain. Contact us today for a free review of your MRI or CT scan to determine if our revolutionary outpatient procedures can help you.

Please note: Laser Spine Institute currently does not perform endoscopic procedures on the thoracic spine.