When Your Backache Needs a Doctor

Sometimes, when people suffer from back pain, a little bit of rest and care will relieve them of the pain in a few days. Applying heat or ice, getting a massage, or even relaxing and taking a pain killer can help cure the back pain. However, if all these do not help to cure the pain, it is necessary to visit a doctor.

If your back pain is severe, and you also develop a fever and a swelling on your back, it is a sign that it is serious and needs alternate treatment. If, along with your back pain you also have less control on your bladder and bowel movements, it could be because of a problem in the nerves situated in your back. If there is pain that is traveling from your buttocks towards your foot, it is possible that  you may have slip disc, or there may be a nerve pressing against your back. In this case, medical attention is advised.

If there is a shooting pain in your leg and it is not accompanied with a back ache, it is still advisable that you visit your doctor as it may mean that you have a herniated disc. If you find a numbness in your legs or otherwise in your hand or arm, this also could mean that there is a compression in the nerves which carry stimuli from the limb to the brain. This would require you to take some tests and get medical attention.

Severe back pain is usually caused by the nerve and needs immediate attention and treatment. If the pain in the back lasts longer than a few weeks, it is more serious than you think. If you have had an injury or have fallen down and there is pain in the back due to it, it is better to get an X ray taken of the spine. Severe back pain which disturbs your sleep at night and makes you feel any position causes discomfort requires attention. This is because lying down should reduce the pain and give you more relief. If there is no comfort while lying down, you may have an infection or other serious ailment.