Low Back Pain

Back pain is ranked second only to headaches as the most frequent cause of pain. Four out of five adults will experience an episode of back pain at some time in their lives.

Pain in the lower back is one of the most common types of pain experienced by adults. 80% of men and women will suffer Low Back Pain at some point in their lives.

For some, the pain is acute: it lasts for a few days or a few weeks and then goes away. For others, the pain is chronic: lasting longer than three months.

There are many different things that can cause pain in the lower back. Some of the more common causes include:

  • Overuse of muscles/joints
  • Injury to the back (such as muscle spasm or ligament sprain)
  • Osteoarthritis
  • A herniated or ruptured disc (also called a "Bulging Disc")
  • Sciatica
  • Spinal Stenosis
  • Compression fractures

Other things that can contribute to Low Back Pain include:

  • Your age: most back pain occurs after age 30
  • Being overweight
  • Pregnancy and weight gain during pregnancy
  • Stress
  • Smoking
  • Bad posture
  • Lack of regular exercise.

Low Back Pain can be treated with short periods of rest, applying ice, and medications. You should see your doctor for pain that doesn't go away after 1-2 weeks, or gets worse.

Chronic Low Back Pain can often be difficult to manage. Over-the-counter and prescription medications can often be helpful to alleviate the pain of some types of Low Back Pain.

To find out about any ongoing research study programs for Chronic Low Back Pain at MRN, please contact us using the form on this page, or call or text us at (212) 595-5012.