When to get immediate medical advice for back pain

You should contact your GP or NHS 111 immediately if you have back pain and:

• numbness or tingling around your genitals or buttocks
• difficulty peeing
• loss of bladder or bowel control
• chest pain
• a high temperature (fever) of 38C (100.4F) or above
• unexplained weight loss
• a swelling or a deformity in your back
• it doesn’t improve after resting or is worse at night
• it started after a serious accident, such as after a car accident

These problems could be a sign of something more serious and need to be checked urgently.

It’s not always possible to identify the cause of back pain but it’s rarely anything serious.

Most back pain is what’s known as “non-specific” (there’s no obvious cause) or “mechanical” (the pain originates from the joints, bones or soft tissues in and around the spine).

This type of back pain:

• tends to get better or worse depending on your position – for example, it may feel better when sitting or lying down
• typically feels worse when moving – but it’s not a good idea to avoid moving your back completely, as this can make things worse
• can develop suddenly or gradually
• might sometimes be the result of poor posture or lifting something awkwardly, but often occurs for no apparent reason
• may be due to a minor injury such as sprain (pulled ligament) or strain (pulled muscle)
• can be associated with feeling stressed or run down
• will usually start to get better within a few weeks

Read about how to relieve back pain.