Back Pain

A common question regarding back pain is, “When should I seek treatment?”

One of the reasons it’s common is that back pain is common. 80% of us will experience it at some point in our lives. A new study shows that seeking care sooner rather than later is the key to having the best outcome.

Those patients who seek care for their lower back pain when it is still in the acute phase (the first few weeks) were much better off a year later. Typical improvement in their pain level was 90%. For those who waited until their pain was chronic, the outcome of treatment is much less optimistic. A year later, their relief was somewhere between 50-80%.

It should be noted that either outcome is desirable compared to not seeking treatment at all.

Back pain that goes untreated into the chronic phase rarely resolves on its own, and often leads to pain in other areas of the body, including neck and middle back and shoulder pain due to altered posture and activity levels.

When should you seek treatment for lower back pain? As soon as possible!

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