Back pains can be classified into two main types: chronic back pain and acute back pain. Apart from the time duration of the aches, the causes and treatment options for the two types are different.

Chronic back pain:

Chronic back pain is a deep ache not usually sharp and occurring in one part of the back and extending downwards to the legs. The pain can be burning or stinging at times and the legs may feel like they are being pierced by hundreds of needles. Numbing of some parts of the back and legs is also likely.

Chronic back pains last for at least a few months and do not respond quickly to treatment. Patients may find working difficult even if it is a desk job.

The cause of chronic back pains is sometimes not certain and cannot be found out. While at other times the cause is identifiable. Causes like strains and sprains, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, herniated disk, spondylolisthesis, stenosis and fractures are identifiable and can be diagnosed without much difficulty. Most of them can be treated over some period of time. If no treatment succeeds, spine surgery could be the only option. But in some cases there is nothing doctors can do and the patients have to live with the pain.

Chronic back pains with no identifiable cause are sometimes called chronic benign pain. It could be that pain signals are transmitted to the brain in spite of the fact that there is no injury or the injury has already healed. Depressive or anxious thoughts may also lead the brain into believing some sort of pain.

Acute back pain:

This type is either a piercing or a dull pain occurring mostly in the lower back, and defined as lasting less than three to six months. Acute back pain usually attacks intermittently, but a dull ache persists all the time.

As with chronic back pain, the cause of acute back pain can sometimes be pinpointed while at other times the diagnosis is vague. The primary cause of the known acute back pains is trauma. Muscle and ligament tears, bruises, or strained joints cause acute pains. Spasms are often a result of the body’s protection mechanism to prevent further injuries to the affected area. Obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and pregnancy are some of the high risk physical conditions for acute back pain.

Treatment is short-range and the acute pain often subsides within a few weeks. Physiotherapy and preventive measures are taught to the patient to sustain the recovery and avoid recurrences.

Acute back pains can sometimes turn into chronic ones if the pains recur several times a year and hampers day-to-day activities.

The pain, both acute and chronic, that occurs even after all the injuries have healed is being studied and named as neuropathic pain.