All Back Pain Articles

Back Pain Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

Back pain - upper back, mid-back, or lower back (lumbago) - is incredibly common and can be caused, directly or incidentally, by a number of conditions.

Lumbar Pillows for Low Back Pain Relief

Lower back pain can make sitting a nightmare, but a lumbar pillow can help. Learn why you may want a lumbar pillow and what you need to know to find the right one.

Is My Back Pain a Medical Condition?

Back pain often comes directly from back or spinal structures, but sometimes it’s a sign of a medical condition elsewhere in your body. Here’s what else could be causing your back pain.

Is Back Pain Affecting Women’s Lifespans?

Women, especially after menopause, are more prone to back pain than men, but a 2021 study points out why that might be even more dangerous than previously suspected.

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.

3 Ways to Stop Diabetes Back Pain

Diabetes affects much more than blood sugar. Its many disease processes are a recipe for back pain.

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.

The Dish on DISH: Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis

Learn about diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) and how to prevent it.

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

Recent studies have pointed out that depression, like SAD, can be linked with pain - particularly back pain.

Back Pain: One in a Billion

If you have back pain, you’re not alone—far from it. A 2020 study suggests more than a billion people around the world have low back pain, neck pain, and other musculoskeletal disorders. Are you a member of this club?

Breasts and Your Back: Why Breast Size Can Affect Back Pain

Large breasts can cause chronic neck and back pain. Consider breast reduction for back pain relief if that’s what’s causing your pain.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Could Slipping Rib Syndrome Be Causing Your Back Pain?

Slipping rib syndrome is a painful and rare disorder also known as floating rib syndrome, lost rib syndrome, costal chondritis or costochondritis, and Tietze syndrome.

Upper Back Pain Causes

Nine potential causes of upper back pain include some you can avoid.

Why Does My Back Always Hurt?

Article from physical therapists on 4 things you can do today to reduce or prevent low back pain. Small changes can make a difference in your pain relief.

Chronic Low Back Vertebrogenic Pain Involves the Spinal Vertebral Endplates

Chronic low back pain research shows the lumbar vertebral endplates can cause vertebrogenic pain and involve the basivertebral nerve (BVN). How BVN pain is diagnosed and treated using BVN nerve ablation.

Causes of Lower Back Pain When Sitting, Standing, and Walking

Lumbar spinal stenosis and spondylolisthesis are common lower back pain conditions that can make sitting, standing, and walking painful and difficult.

Keeping Your Back Healthy as You Age

Five ways to help keep your back and neck healthy as you grow older.

What Triggers Acute Lower Back Pain?

Acute lower back pain usually starts suddenly with severe pain that lasts a short time. Seven common causes and 4 self-help treatments.

Back Pain and Neck Pain: Diagnosis and Treatment

A spine specialist explains how back pain and neck pain is diagnosed, and what treatments you can try for your pain. Article also covers back pain and neck pain prevention.

Is the Weather Worsening Your Back Pain?

How changes in the weather may cause back pain to increase, and 6 tips to help you keep seasonal and weather-related pain at bay.

John F. Kennedy’s Life-long Struggles With Chronic Back Pain

President John F. Kennedy's story illustrates the difficulty and complexity in diagnosing and treating spinal disorders and chronic back pain.

The Best Exercises for Low Back Pain

A spine expert discusses the types of exercises that can be beneficial and which ones to avoid.

Is Your Low Back Pain Mechanical?

The cause of low back pain can be categorized as being either organic or mechanical. What’s the difference and why is the answer noteworthy to someone with lumbar spine pain?

Back Pain Exercise Video: Pelvic Tilt

The pelvic tilt exercise is one of the most important exercises for your low back. Helps with degenerative disc disease, sciatica, and spinal stenosis. Learn how to do it well in this video.

Is Back Pain Ruining Your Golf Game?

Some golfers find their lower back body-swing connection causes back pain. Here are common swing faults that may contribute to lower back pain.

Is Acupuncture Effective in Treating Lower Back Pain?

A recent study set out to explore the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating low back pain. Read the latest findings on this topic here.

Benefits of the McKenzie Method

The McKenzie Method has one major benefit: patients can learn self-care techniques that can reverse their back pain and prevent further painful episodes. Learn the other benefits in this article by a McKenzie clinician.

The Importance of Performing Test Movements Repeatedly in the McKenzie Evaulation

In a McKenzie examination, you'll do multiple end-range movements: e.g., arching your back as far as you can. This is to try to find your directional preference-- the movement direction that relieves pain. It's the first step in the McKenzie Method.

The Origin of the McKenzie Method

The McKenzie Method was created by Robin McKenzie. Get the full story of how he developed this back pain treatment option, which he discovered by accident.

Rapidly Reversible Low Back Pain and the McKenzie Method

Dr. Donelson believes some forms of back pain are rapidly reversible-- you can relieve your pain with the McKenzie Method. He explains how and who benefits most from McKenzie.

Is It Back Pain or Hip Pain? Getting to the Root of the Problem

It’s easy to mistake back pain for hip pain and vice versa. How your doctor diagnoses the cause of lower back pain and if it originates in the back or hips.

Alternative Treatments for Upper Back Pain

Learn about acupuncture and massage and find out how they can help you deal with upper back pain.

Drugs, Medications, and Injections for Upper Back Pain

Drugs, medications, and injections work to control and relieve your upper back pain. Your doctor will help figure out which medication is right for you. Options include acetaminophen and muscle relaxants.

Surgery for Upper Back Pain

Surgery for upper back pain is a last resort treatment option. The exact procedure is determined by your diagnosis, but this article explains several common procedures for upper back pain, including decompression and fusion.

How to Prevent Upper Back Pain

Learn tips, including an exercise you can do every day, for upper back pain prevention.

Trigger Point Spinal Injections for Low Back Pain

If you have muscle-related lower back pain, your doctor may recommend a trigger point injection. How will it work? How many will you need? Find answers here.

Does Drinking Alcohol Lead to Lower Back Pain?

Can alcohol worsen back pain or can it help reduce pain? It depends on a lot of things, such as how much you’re drinking, and if you have a spine condition that could worsen with alcohol consumption.

5 Quick Tips to Help Prevent Lower Back Pain

Prevent lower back pain (or reduce your pain) with these 5 quick tips from a spine surgeon.

Lumbar Spine Surgery: Will You Need Surgery for Your Lower Back Pain?

You have lower back pain: Will you need surgery? Detailed article to help you understand spinal anatomy, lower back pain treatment options, including surgical procedures.

Seven Myths About Back Pain Debunked

Seven common back pain myths are demystified by Neel Anand, MD, an orthopaedic spine surgeon. Consider, is back pain unavoidable with aging, does exercise cause back pain, is the firmest mattress the best choice if you have back pain?

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