Approximately 80% of all adults will have lower left back pain at some point in their life. The pain can range from little twinges to intense, crippling pain that impacts a few days of a person’s life.

What You Thought…And What’s The Truth

All back pain is the same. – Not exactly. There are really two kinds of back pain – acute and chronic. Acute is short term, lasting just a few days or maybe a few weeks at most. If it is untreated it can get worse. Chronic back pain is usually pain that has lasted for three months or more. It can be persistent, or come and go in flares that are periodically worse than the less intense pain. It can be especially difficult to determine the cause of chronic pain. Most lower left back pains are acute.

Isn’t it true that “The worse the pain, the worse the damage”? – Actually, the amount of pain in the lower left back does not necessarily correspond to the amount of damage. A pain that may be caused by a simple muscle spasm or lower back strain can be excruciating, and so painful so walking or even standing can be difficult. There is not much that can hurt worse than having lower left back pain. (Alternately, something as dangerous as a degenerated disc can be painfree.)

The doctor will be able to identify the source of my lower left back pain. – In a perfect world, this might be true. The reality is, often there is no known physiological cause for back pain. This doesn’t mean that the pain is psychosomatic, or “all in your head”. It just means that, like about 90% of the other people with back pain, the cause may never be identified.

The best thing to do when you have lower left back pain is to rest in bed until it goes away. – Not true! Resting in bed can be all right for a day, or two at most. Beyond that, staying in bed will actually slow your recovery. It is far better to gradually introduce more activities, working yourself back up to full strength more quickly in the process.

Exercise will make my back pain worse. – Getting moderate exercise will help your back regain strength and heal properly. Of course, that doesn’t mean overdoing it and making things worse!

All back pain just needs rest – Not quite. While most pain will go away on its own after a few days, there are some symptoms that are more serious and should be seen by a medical authority. These include: progressive weakness in legs; sudden bladder and/or bowel dysfunction; severe, continuous low back or abdominal pain; fever and chills with back pain, cancer history with recent weight loss, severe trauma.

As it is likely you will have lower left back pain at sometime – it is smart to know the facts.