Only the common cold is responsible for more lost work days than lower back pain.
Most of the time, back pain is caused by a muscle strain and will simply take care of itself.
The pain is generally confined to the lower back, but muscle strains can also cause pain in the upper back and the neck, as well as the shoulder.
When the pain is in the buttocks area and there is pain down one leg, the problem is that the sciatic nerve is involved. Most of the time this pain is caused because there is what is called a slipped disc. But don’t panic.
Most of the time this back pain will also resolve itself, and all of the horror stories that you have heard about back surgeries just aren’t true. It is very unlikely that any surgery will be required.
The tendency of all those who are suffering from sciatica is to just simply quit doing things that hurt. They crawl into bed and just stay there. Nothing could be more detrimental to the healing process.
The pain of sciatica usually starts in the buttocks and travels down one leg. One patient described the pain leaving by saying that it traveled down his leg and out his big toe.
As the weeks progressed, the pain got lower and lower and finally only his big toe hurt. It makes perfect sense. The sciatic nerve ends at the big toe.
Stretching exercises will promote healing of the sciatic nerve and help to relieve the pain associated with sciatica.
A physical therapist can give instructions for appropriate stretching exercises.