​Back pain is a common issue that many people experience, but it can be difficult to determine when it’s just a minor issue and when it requires immediate attention. Understanding the type of pain, the mechanism behind it, and recognising red flags are key in identifying whether your back pain might be more serious. Here’s how to tell when to seek urgent medical help and when myotherapy might be the right solution for your discomfort.

​Types of Back Pain
Back pain can vary widely in intensity, location, and quality. Understanding the characteristics of your pain can help you assess whether it’s something that may resolve with time or requires more urgent care:

• Dull, Achy, or Bruise-like Sensation: This type of pain is often related to muscle strain or overuse. It’s usually not serious but can become problematic if left untreated, especially if it persists or worsens.
• Sharp, Shooting, or Intense Pain: If your pain is sharp, shooting, or feels like a shocking sensation that radiates into the limbs, it could indicate nerve involvement, such as a pinched nerve or disc herniation. This kind of pain might be associated with sciatica, where pain travels from your back into your legs.
• Referred Pain: Pain that travels from the back down into your arms or legs can signal nerve compression, particularly if it’s accompanied by tingling or numbness. It often worsens with certain movements or positions.
• Pain with Weakness: If you experience pain that is coupled with weakness in your arms or legs, this could be an indication of nerve damage or compression, which should be evaluated promptly.
• Pain with Specific Movements: Pain that worsens with particular movements, such as rotating toward the painful side, could be a sign of a facet joint sprain. Similarly, pain that increases when you contract a muscle may indicate an injury to the muscle or tendon fibers, such as a strain or tendinopathy.
• Breathtaking Pain: Any pain that is so intense it takes your breath away or feels unbearable could suggest a serious issue such as a spinal injury, fracture, or significant nerve involvement, especially if there has been a specific incident or injury.

Mechanism of the Pain: Why Did It Start?
The onset of your back pain can provide important clues to its seriousness:

• Acute, Traumatic Onset: If your pain started suddenly after an accident, fall, or another trauma, it could indicate a serious injury. Situations such as car accidents, slipping and falling, or twisting awkwardly can lead to fractures, ligament tears, or disc injuries. Its always important to get medically checked after any serious incident, even if you don't think you have been injured.
• Gradual Onset: If your pain has built up over time, it could be due to repetitive strain or muscle imbalances. This type of pain is often less urgent but still requires attention to prevent it from becoming chronic. Prevention of chronic, ongoing pain conditions is highly recommended!

Red Flags That Require Immediate Attention
Certain symptoms, known as "red flags," indicate the need for immediate medical attention. If you experience any of the following, it’s essential to consult a doctor as soon as possible:

• Severe Pain Intensity: If your pain is extreme and doesn’t improve with rest, you may be dealing with a more serious condition like a herniated disc or spinal fracture, especially if there has been any potential acute trauma to your back like a fall or taking a heavy hit in the back. This could also indicate signs of infection in the bladder or kidneys, or of kidney stones.
• Bladder or Bowel Dysfunction: Difficulty controlling your bladder or bowel, or pain when urinating, could be a sign of cauda equina syndrome, a serious condition requiring emergency care. These changes can be noticed as incontinence, bed wetting, increased or decreased frequency of going to the toilet, less mind-body awareness of when you need to go, sudden and immediate need to urinate or empty your bowels, as well as any altered sensation in the skin or muscles surrounding the genitals and buttocks. These are serious symptoms that should not be ignored, even though they can be embarrassing to discuss.
• Loss of Sensation or Numbness: Numbness or tingling in your legs, feet, or buttocks, especially if accompanied by weakness, could suggest nerve compression or damage.
• Significant Increase in Pain with Coughing, Sneezing, or Straining: If your pain worsens significantly when you cough, sneeze, or perform activities that increase intra-abdominal pressure, such as lifting, it could indicate pressure on a nerve root, often associated with a herniated disc.
• Unexplained Bruising or Swelling: Significant bruising or swelling in the back without an obvious cause could be a sign of an underlying injury, such as a muscle tear or even a more serious issue like internal bleeding.
• Increased Pain with Neck Flexion: If bending your neck forward increases your back pain, it could be a sign of a spinal cord issue or nerve root compression, which requires medical evaluation.
• Loss of Strength: If you’re unable to lift or move your limbs effectively, or have the feeling of extreme heaviness of your limbs, this could be an indicator of significant nerve compression or a more serious spinal injury.

How Can Myotherapy Help?
For many types of back pain, especially those not associated with these red flags, myotherapy can be an effective, non-invasive treatment option. Myotherapists use a combination of techniques to alleviate pain, improve mobility, and address the root cause of your discomfort. Some common methods include:

• Massage and Myofascial Release: These techniques target muscle tension and tightness, helping to relieve discomfort and improve flexibility.
• Dry Needling and Cupping: These methods are often used to release trigger points, reduce muscle tension, and improve blood flow to the affected areas, which can speed up recovery.
• Exercise Prescription: Your myotherapist can also design a personalized exercise program to help you build strength, improve posture, and prevent future injuries.

Back pain can be alarming, but not all pain is cause for immediate concern. By understanding the type of pain you're experiencing, its onset, and being mindful of red flags, you can better assess whether your back pain is serious. For many cases of back pain, myotherapy provides a safe and effective treatment to reduce pain, improve mobility, and support long-term recovery. However, if you notice any red flags, consult with a doctor immediately to rule out serious conditions.

If you are free of red flags, its likely that our team of excellent Myotherapists can help with a strategy for your back pain. Book online to consult with one of our experts.

Severe Pain
This might seem a little obvious. But sudden, severe pain is always a red flag, even if you think you know the cause. If it causes nausea, vomiting or loss of consciousness, you need to seek medical attention, stat.

Night Time Pain That Wakes You Up
Pain that wakes you up, stops you from falling asleep, or doesn't ease with rest is an indicator that something is not right. It can be associated with infection, inflammation, abdominal aortic aneurysm and cancer. 
 
Sudden Changes In Bladder/Bowel Control
In myotherapy terms, this is a very serious red flag. Although there can be more benign reasons for a change in bladder or bowel control, it could be a sign of serious nerve or spinal damage. Seek out your GP asap.
 
Dizziness & Fainting Spells
There can be may reasons why you experience dizziness and fainting. Some can be as simple as low blood pressure. But some can be a warning sign of something nastier. If you lose consciousness completely, then you need to seek immediate medical attention. For dizzy spells, book in to see your GP for a general checkup.
 
Burning Soles Of Feet
It seems like the least significant of the listed red flags. But this one can be just as serious. Burning soles can be a sign of nerve dysfunction in the legs, spine or feet. But it can also be a warning sign for deep vein thrombosis – a blood clot that occurs in a vein. If DVT is not treated, it can be fatal. So don’t hesitate to get a medical check-up straight away.
 
Lower-Mid Back Pain Plus Altered Urination
This might seem like an unusual combination of symptoms. But it can involve serious kidney involvement – from a kidney infection to kidney disease and even kidney failure. If your lower-mid back pain is still lingering after a treatment, its worth considering that it may be kidney related. If in doubt, get some tests done to check your kidney function, its always better to check it out than leave it to progress!
 
Chest Pain & Shortness Of Breath
It’s not just the dramatic heart-clutching Hollywood-style chest pain that is a red flag. Any unexpected chest pain is a concern, whether it feels obviously muscular or deeper into the chest. Difficulty breathing can also be a major concern – after all, we need enough oxygen to function! For mild cases, you can seek your GP’s attention immediately. But if in doubt, call 000 – better to be safe than sorry.
 
Severe Headaches
We all get headaches from time to time. But severe headaches can be a sign of issues including hormone imbalances, nerve dysfunction or even brain tumours. The more severe the headache, the sooner you should seek medical attention. Even if you are used to having migraines, it is still a red flag to get suddenly what feels like the worst headache you will ever experience. Feeling confused, running a fever, vomiting and numbness associated with a headache means you need to seek help immediately.
 
Sudden Changes In Vision
Seeing is a pretty important part of surviving in today’s world. But if there are sudden changes to your vision such as blurriness, double vision or loss of vision (even temporarily), it can mean that something is impairing the function of your eyes or your brain. Look out for co-existing symptoms along with vision changes - like headache, dizziness, or nausea.
 
If you are experiencing any changes in vision, please do not drive anywhere, even to seek medical help. Order an Uber or a cab, ask a friend for a lift, or if all else fails, call an ambulance or book a home visit with a GP.
 
Significant Weakness/Numbness
Muscle weakness when you have worked out or numbness when you’ve been sitting on your foot is one thing. But if you experience unexpected weakness, numbness or inability to move any body part, it’s a massive red flag. This shows that your nerves are not functioning properly or your nervous system isn’t getting the message. 
If any area of your body feels numb, this is a sign of nerve involvement. Numb can mean different things to different people, but usually people describe it to me as being like pins and needles, a bit tingly, feeling "different" or a true numbness of complete loss of feeling. The most common areas to have this numbness is in the arms and legs, and usually it starts at the fingers and toes. This is a kind of red flag that your myotherapist may be able to help you out with, although you may still need to see your GP or your Chiropractor if any scans are required or if structural treatment is needed.
 
If you experience any of these symptoms, your first stop should be your GP. If you come in to see me and we can't clear these red flag symptoms, I might not be able to treat you. But once you’ve got the all-clear, I’m happy to help with any musculoskeletal symptoms. To book in a session, head here.