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June 19, 2013
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Back Pain (cont.)

Medical Author:
William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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Medical Editor:
Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP
Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP
Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Dr. Balentine received his undergraduate degree from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine graduating in1983. He completed his internship at St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia and his Emergency Medicine residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx, where he served as chief resident.

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Low Back Pain Symptoms

Pain in the lumbosacral area (lower part of the back) is the primary symptom of low back pain.

  • The pain may radiate down the front, side, or back of your leg, or it may be confined to the low back.


  • The pain may become worse with activity.


  • Occasionally, the pain may be worse at night or with prolonged sitting such as on a long car trip.


  • You may have numbness or weakness in the part of the leg that receives its nerve supply from a compressed nerve.


    • This can cause an inability to plantar flex the foot. This means you would be unable to stand on your toes or bring your foot downward. This occurs when the first sacral nerve is compressed or injured.


    • Another example would be the inability to raise your big toe upward. This results when the fifth lumbar nerve is compromised.

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Back Pain - Cause

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Back Pain - Treatment

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Chronic Pain/Back Pain

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Read What Your Physician is Reading on Medscape

Back Pain, Mechanical »

Mechanical low back pain is one of the most common patient complaints expressed to emergency physicians in the United States accounting for more than 6 million cases annually.

Read More on Medscape Reference »


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