Conditions

Degenerative Disc Disease Symptoms, Causes, Treatments and More

Degenerative disc disease is a condition in which a damaged spinal disc causes pain. Learn about the disease here.

What Hurts? 3 Types of Back Pain

Musculoskeletal pain—usually what you think of as back pain—comes in a couple of flavors, and knowing which is which will help you get the right treatment.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Center

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can affect the spine; it's most common in the cervical spine. In the SpineUniverse Rheumatoid Arthritis Center, you'll learn the symptoms and signs so that you can recognize RA.

Back Pain or Kidney Pain? Find Out What Hurts

Kidney pain or back pain? Sometimes it can be tough to tell, but each will provide their own clues. Here’s what you need to know.

Whiplash Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment

Whiplash is the term for a neck sprain or strain resulting from hyperextension and hyperflexion of the head and cervical spine. Neck pain may travel into the upper back and shoulders.

For Sciatica, Medication May Not Be the Answer

New guidelines from the UK discourage the use of medication for sciatica. What do North American spine specialists think? Find out here.

Who Treats Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia may be diagnosed and treated by your primary care doctor, rheumatologist, neurologist and/or a pain management specialist.

Fibromyalgia Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder that affects millions of Americans each year—primarily women—and can be both physically and emotionally distressing.

Coccydynia is Tailbone Pain

Coccydynia is the medical term for tailbone pain in your coccyx. Coccydynia symptoms can make sitting painful and uncomfortable.

Osteoporosis Causes, Risk Factors, Complications, Diagnosis and Treatment

Osteoporosis, which means porous bone, is a serious disease that causes you to lose too much bone, make too little bone, or both.

Seasonal Affective Disorder and Back Pain: What’s the Connection?

SAD is a form of depression, and back pain can be a very real symptom of this disorder.

Ankylosing Spondylitis Center

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a form of inflammatory arthritis that affects the spine. In severe ankylosing spondylitis, the disease causes new bone formation causing bones in the spine to fuse together.

Say What? Osteoid Osteoma of the Spine

Osteoid osteoma is a fancy term for small, benign, bonelike tumors that can grow on the spine (among other areas). Although they’re not cancerous, they can cause pain and abnormal spine curves. Here’s how to get rid of them.

Don’t Lose Muscle Mass When You Have Chronic Back Pain

Sarcopenia—losing muscle mass—and back pain tend to go hand-in-hand. Our expert has tips for keeping your body fit and your back healthy in your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond.

Back Pain? Could Be Your Hips

A 2020 study suggests a total hip replacement solved accompanying back pain in more than four out of five cases. Find out more.

Back Pain in Children: How it Happens and How to Help

A 2020 study suggests a third of kids experience back pain. Here’s how it happens, and how parents can help prevent back pain in children.

Spondylosis Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

Spondylosis, or spinal osteoarthritis, is a painful condition that's caused by aging and wear-and-tear on the spine. There's no cure but it can be managed.

Lower Back Pain Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

Low and lower back pain can vary from dull pain that develops gradually to sudden, sharp or persistent pain felt below the waist.

Upper Back Pain Causes, Risk Factors, Diagnosis and Treatment

The SpineUniverse Universal Guide to Upper Back Pain: Everything you ever wanted to know about upper back pain, straight from the experts.

Back Pain Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

Back pain is one of the most common reasons people self-treat and seek medical care. It can be described as low back pain or lower back pain and affects 3 in 4 adults. Back pain symptoms may include numbness, tingling sensations, achiness and stiffness.

The Best Exercises for Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis—weakening of bone—is hardly inevitably as you age. Here are the best exercises you can do to help prevent osteoporosis.

7 Lower Back Pain Causes That Affect Women

Lower back pain in females can stem from a woman’s reproductive anatomy or her spinal anatomy. Learn what can cause lower back pain in women that men may not have to worry as much—or at all—about.

Sciatica Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Sciatica is pain that radiates from the lower back along the sciatic nerve. You can probably relieve sciatica without surgery, but surgery can be effective too. Learn your options here.

Scoliosis Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

SpineUniverse's Scoliosis Center offers accurate information about the diagnosis and treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, adult spinal scoliosis, and degenerative scoliosis.

Surviving a Broken Neck—and Thriving After Recovery

Not only can you survive a broken neck, but you can thrive with little ill effects—with the right treatment and recovery. Here’s how one man did it, and turned a disability into an asset.

How Do You Know When Back Pain Is Serious?

Back pain usually goes away on its own, but what if it doesn’t? How do you know if your back pain is serious? Look for these red flags.

Spine Injuries from an Accident: Get the Basics

Car accidents are a rising trend in spine injuries. Here’s what you need to know about accident-related injuries, treatment, recovery, legal issues and more.

Surgery for Sciatica

If you’ve tried every conservative sciatica treatment under the sun with no relief, it may be time to consider surgery. Here’s how to prepare and how to recover from sciatica surgery.

Spinal Meningitis: Your Questions, Answered

Meningitis: It’s not just for the brain. Spinal meningitis affects the protective lining of the spinal cord. Learn how to recognize it, and how it’s treated.

How to Tell if Your Sciatica is Actually Piriformis Syndrome

When Your Sciatica Just Won’t Quit You Might Have a Misdiagnosed Case of Piriformis Syndrome

Alternative Treatments for Spinal Stenosis

Symptoms of spinal stenosis may be treated using complementary, integrative and alternative therapies, such as acupuncture and massage.

The Ultimate Guide to Back Spasms

Ever had a charley horse? Fun, right? Now imagine it’s in your back. That’s a back spasm. Here’s why they happen and what you can do to get rid of it.

Battling Bertolotti Syndrome: What You Need to Know

Bertolotti syndrome might not be a usual suspect in lower back pain, but diagnostic detective work can uncover this common congenital condition.

Sciatica Self-care: 5 At-home Remedies for Low Back and Leg Pain

These 5 at-home sciatica therapies are good options for people who recently started experiencing sciatic nerve pain or whose low back and leg pain is not severe.

Can IBS Cause Back Pain?

Can IBS cause back pain? How are the two related? What are the treatments for IBS—and can those therapies help ease discomfort in your back? Find out here.

Treating Adult Onset Scoliosis Starts with Nonsurgical Approaches

Scoliosis doesn’t just affect kids. Scoliosis in adults is often due to degenerating discs in the spine. Nonsurgical treatment usually works well.

6 Leading Causes of Sciatica and Sciatic Nerve Pain

Sciatica, also called lumbar radiculopathy, is mild to intense pain that radiates from the low back into the left or right leg. Sciatic nerve pain symptoms include numbness, tingling sensations, and weakness.

Sciatica Exercises: 4 Stretches for Sciatica Pain

These 4 sciatica exercises may help you reduce your sciatic nerve pain in your low back and leg. Each low-impact exercise is demonstrated in narrated videos and written instructions are provided to help you fine-tune your sciatica home exercise program.

Non-surgical Treatment of Spondylosis (Spinal Osteoarthritis)

Most people with spinal osteoarthritis do not need surgery. Many of the common nonoperative treatments are featured in this article.

Cervical Spondylosis: Patient History and Case

Cervical spondylosis is spinal osteoarthritis affecting the neck. This patient case reviews the evaluation and treatment of a woman who developed spondylosis as a result of a car accident.

Exams and Tests for Spondylosis

To make an accurate diagnosis of spondylosis, your doctor will do physical and neurological exams. You'll need to have x-rays, CT scans, or MRIs, too.

Causes of Spondylosis

Spondylosis is often a result of aging and is a type of arthritis called spinal osteoarthritis. Aging and wear and tear contributes to degenerative changes in the spine causing neck and back pain.

Spinal Arthritis: Symptoms

Spondylosis is arthritis of the spine or spinal osteoarthritis. Common spondylosis symptoms include pain and stiffness in the neck, mid back and low back (lumbar spondylosis).

Axial Spondyloarthritis Is Inflammatory Spinal Arthritis

Axial spondyloarthritis types, symptoms, how diagnosed and treated. AxSpA is spinal inflammatory arthritis; an underlying cause of back pain and neck pain.

Symptoms of Upper Back Pain

Common upper back pain symptoms include muscle stiffness, tightness, and tenderness. Upper back pain is often related to muscle or soft tissue problems. Learn more.

Upper Cervical Spine Disorders: Anatomy of the Head and Upper Neck

Head and upper neck disorders may be called craniovertebral or craniocervical junction abnormalities (CVJ). This information can help you understand key anatomical structures in the skull and spine.

Thyroid Disorders Can Raise Risk for Osteoporosis and Spinal Fracture

Hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism are thyroid disorders that increase risk for osteoporosis and painful spinal fracture, such as vertebral compression fractures.

Epidural Corticosteroid Injections and Low Back Pain

Epidural steroid injections may be part of a treatment program that includes an active exercise program and may assist in avoiding the need for surgical intervention.

TENS Reduced Fibromyalgia Pain and Fatigue in Women

TENS, transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation, reduced movement-related fibromyalgia pain and fatigue in women according to study findings.

Cervical Herniated Disc or Ruptured Disc

A cervical herniated disc is a common cause of neck pain that may radiate into the shoulders and arms often resulting from spinal nerve compression. Sensations of numbness and tingling are typical symptoms, and some patients experience muscle spasms. Movement can aggravate and intensify neck pain.

Join Our Back Pain Community

Conditions