Living with back pain is difficult. Your daily schedule is ruled by a crippling pain that comes and goes as it pleases.
It's something you usually attribute to your lifestyle. If you're sitting down, picking up or lifting objects incorrectly, sleeping funny, overstretching, or whatever the case may be, that's where you probably got the back pain from.
It can't be more serious than that, right? Well, apparently it can be.
Here are 5 times you should worry about your back pain and seek a medical professional.
1. You can't tell where it exactly hurts
Back pain comes from pain in your muscles, so if you can't pinpoint where that pain is, it could be a sign of a heart attack.
2. Your back hurts considerably more at night
All your aches and pains are slowly supposed to go away once you're snuggled in bed. If you're experiencing uncontrollable back pain that's affecting your good night's sleep, you need to see a doctor immediately.
3. Your body is stiff in the morning
Your body isn't supposed to feel like it can do a cartwheel right when you wake up, but it shouldn't feel like you can't do anything at all. If your back pain is getting worse without movement, this could mean you have inflammatory arthritis.
4. You can't control your bladder or bowels
If you're going to the bathroom before actually getting to the bathroom, there could be a serious underlying problem. Although rare, cauda equina syndrome happens when the end of the spinal cord is damaged, causing severe back pain and loss of bowel or bladder control.
5. You're at a high risk for fractures
You may be suffering from terrible back pain because you have unknowingly damaged your spine. If this is so, you're at a high risk for fractures, which would require you to see a medical professional immediately.
