Back Pain is essentially a universal malady as it occurs with a variety of ailments that range from osteoarthritis to disc prolapse to heart failure. Though it is one of the more common ailments its severity is very difficult to assess and in most cases, facial expressions, extent of interference on daily life, and the recounting of the sufferer give an indication as to the severity of the pain. Every one of us has suffered from pain in the back at some time or other and according to statistics Back related Pain affects 80% of the population at some point in time and in lieu of the figures the NHS spends more than 480 million pounds in the treatment of back pain.

A disease or disorder in any of the structures of the back including, inter-vertebral discs, vertebrae, joints and ligaments, and the muscles and nerves controlling them, is the prime reason for pain. The two most frequently occurring types back pain are:

1. Acute back pain: This type of pain has a rapid onset and in some cases is caused by a protrusion of intervertebral disc. The people who are usually affected by this are middle-aged or young adults as a result of their daily activities like boarding the bus etc. The treatment includes analgesics, rest, and physiotherapy.

2. Chronic back pain: It is an ailment that is amongst the most common and is a result of diverse causes which makes its description a complex affair. Chronic pain at the back is usually caused by strain on ligaments owing to Osteoarthritis, muscular fatigue among other reasons. The paucity of variety in the symptoms, few physicals signs, equal radiological findings, and negligible pathological information leads to a very empirical treatment of the pain.

The diagnosis of any disorder is a prerequisite for its proper treatment and more so with back pain which does not have any articulate symptoms. A full history of the pain is essential in its treatment starting right from the first occasion when the pain was felt. Details of other illnesses and an inquiry into the environmental conditions and family history are also a necessity for diagnosing the reasons and the treatment to be offered for the pain. A careful physical examination has to be undertaken to further assess the reasons behind the pain and the severity of the pain. The patient is examined in various positions like sitting, standing, supine, lying prone, and lying on the side. Pathological investigations like urine and blood tests, X-ray etc also conducted to help the doctor prescribe apt medication to alleviated pain.

Treatment for back pain includes physiotherapy, operation; moreover some plain and simple rest can go a long way in the treatment of back pain. The aim of all these approaches is plain and simple: rid the patient of the pain in the back.