Lower back pain is one of the most common conditions among us. It is very probable that any of us has experienced at least once a backache. It is considered that 4 out 5 persons are affected by lower back pain at some point in their lives.
According to the American Chiropractic Association, back pain is the main reason why Americans call sick at work. It is thought that a 50% of all the working Americans encounter back pain symptoms annually. Therefore, on the account of back pain, 265 million work days are lost within a year, meaning that each American worker needs annually two days off to deal with the back pain.
Furthermore, back pain is the third reason, after skin conditions, osteoarthritis or joint disorders, for which patients visit the doctor. Even though most of the back pain cases are not stimulated by serious conditions such as cancer or an infection, but by mechanical failures, such as a sudden move, the back pain generates health care costs of about 50 billion dollars annually. Adding to this calculus the costs of decreased productivity and the lost wages, the final sum rounds up to 100 billion dollars per year.
The lower back pain could be acute or chronic. If it is acute, then the symptoms will improve in a couple of days. In case the lower back pain is chronic, then the symptoms will persist at least 3 months and the condition might be more serious than what you have expected.
Sometimes, the pain can start gradually, while other times the pain can ignite suddenly at full potential. Usually, the lower back pain occurs after an injury or after lifting and handling very heavy objects, without being too careful to the moves you make. You might even here a “pop” when the injury happens. One sudden move can be all it needs for a couple of unpleasant days. In other cases, you might not even notice what caused the pain.