Back pain is extremely common; at any one time, 25% of the population suffer from back pain. It can be extremely severe and debilitating either as acute episodes, where you can’t even stand up, or as long-lasting chronic pain which can make your life miserable.
Whilst it is true that back pain can be a symptom of serious disease, this is rare with less than 1% of all back pain being due to this.
Between 5-6% of back pain will be due to problems with your disc.
Direct injury can occur as a result of damage to sensitive structures of the spine following a trauma such as a fall, car crash or while playing sport, or even over-exertion from DIY or gardening.
And degenerative changes or osteoarthritis can cause facet syndrome and cause back pain.
However none of these are the most common reason for back pain.
By far the largest category is known as non-specific or simple back pain… Although it is no such thing.