What is back pain, and what causes it?

What is back pain?
Stating the obvious, back pain is a pain or discomfort that you feel in
your back, with the most common form being pain or discomfort in the
lower back area. Most importantly, it is an indication that there is
something wrong with your back, usually something that is related to
musculoskeletal problems.
The problem for most people that suffer back pain is that they never
give it a moment’s thought most of the time, because during those
periods of their life they are not in pain.
However, as soon as the pain hits, it is a pain that they will feel almost
irrespective of what they are doing. If they are walking or standing,
they will be in pain, but even if they are sitting down in a favorite chair
or lying down, the chances are that they will still feel the pain.
For anyone who is lucky enough to suffer back pain only intermittently,
they will forget how much difficulty they were previously suffering after
the pain has gone away again.
The complaint of lower back pain is one of the most common medical
complaints known, and yet, because there are many possible causes, it
can also be one of the most frustrating and difficult problems for both
patients and their medical attendants to deal with.
The good news is that for most people, back problems do tend to be
intermittent - meaning that they are likely to go away of their own
volition given time. The amount of time will depend upon the condition
itself, the severity of the pain and so on, but for most people, having a
‘bad back’ is a temporary problem.
It is generally believed that once you have suffered a back problem, you
become more prone to suffering similar problems again in the future. It
is for this reason that even an intermittent, temporary back problem
can become a major difficulty for anyone who works in a profession
where lifting is essential for them to fulfill the tasks of their job.
As an example, it can be a major career threat for anyone in the
nursing profession to suffer a damaged back, because it is absolutely
necessary for them to be able to help patients up from a prone position,
which necessitates lifting.
What causes back pain?
A simple answer to this question is, it is probably your life that is
causing your back pain problem.