At one point in your life, you may have experienced this sharp pain on your back. You know that pain that makes it impossible for you to bend or even walk properly even just for a split second? Yes, that one. Maybe you didn’t even have enough time to get a solution as this pain just vanished almost instantly. Now, that happened because the pains were probably not anything serious but just minor repercussions from things like bad posture, lifting of heavy objects, wrong mattress, pregnancy or even bad exercise routines. Normally, pain resulting from these factors should go away by merely resting.

However, there may come a time when you may experience the same pains only that this time they won’t go away. These back pains may linger around for as long as two months and cause you massive worry. It is at this point that you should seek medical help. This is because such persistent pains may be signaling an underlying medical problem.

 But how do you tell brand the pain as a sign of an illness?
1. When it is coupled with numbness in the areas below your waist
Now, as a human being, you may trip and fall (literally). Usually, you will just rub off this incident with a laugh and proceed to nurse any injuries that may have resulted. This may include back pains that you will just disregard. However, it is important to monitor how this pain behaves as you may have injured your spine during the fall. This is why it is important to seek medical advice if you start experiencing numbness on the legs and sometimes involuntary bowel movement after an accident. This is because these pains could be signaling towards a damaged spine which can eventually lead to paralysis if not treated in good time.

2. When the pains come with stiffness in other joints as well
According to research, chronic back pains are most common in people over 50 years.  Now, these are people who have obviously used their muscles for quite a while and hence the protective cartilages in their joints are bound to have worn out. In addition, their muscles may have weakened over time. With these factors in play, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that you will experience back pain. However, you should start getting worried if the pains are persistent and are coupled with pains in other joints such as knees, hands or even hips. This is because the pains could be signaling the onset of arthritis, a disease that is common in people in this age.

 3. If the pains are accompanied by unexplained weight loss and fever
Now, with the new obsession with losing weight, it won’t be a wonder that you are exercising to cut down those kilos. Similarly, pains in your joints may not come as a surprise because your body is prone to injuries and fatigue from the workouts. However, it is important to keep tabs on how your weight is reducing and also how the pains are presenting themselves. This is because research has shown that cancerous tumors developing in areas around the spine usually register in the form of intensive back pains that deteriorate with time. Therefore, if you experience any unprecedented weight loss, massive upper back pains and fever, kindly drop what you are doing and seek medical advice as you could be sitting on a developing cancer.

 4. If the pains are severe and you are always nausea
In the world today, there is a strong and scary wind of kidney stones. According to research, one out of every twenty people will develop this disorder at one point in their lives. This is why it is important for you to be well acquainted with its signs so that you can be able to deal with it before it’s too late. Now, this is a disorder that happens when a small mineral material (stone) is formed in the kidneys or urinary tract. This stone will cause severe back pains, vomiting, nausea and sometimes blood in urine. Therefore, back pains could be a sign of kidney stones.

Conclusion
Due to the nature of your lifestyle or the kind of work you do, back pains may not come as a surprise. However, based on the above scrutiny, it is evident that the pains you experience may be harboring more than meets the eye. That pain could not only be because you fell but also could mean that your spine got injured. This is why it is important to seek medical advice whenever the pains persist for too long or are accompanied by effects like weight loss, fever, pain in other joints or nausea. This is because the pains could be signaling a bigger problem in the body.

References

 https://www.jointhealthmagazine.com/low-back-pain-may-be-caused-by-sacroiliac-joint.html

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/jazzpollard/view/10-best-foods-that-help-relieve-joint-pain-790337