Mechanical lower back pain is pain in your lower back that generally varies with certain positions or activities and so can comes and go. It is a common issue which affects over 90% of people at some point in their life. This type of pain can develop gradually over time or come on suddenly. Some people can report ‘flare ups’ which often settle in a couple of weeks.

Because this type of back pain is so common, it has been researched in detail. This research has found multiple factors that can contribute to experiencing lower back pain. These include:

  • being unfit
  • being overweight
  • staying in the same position for too long without moving
  • worrying a lot about your back. It has been shown that people who worry more about their back pain often experience more frequent episodes of back pain and are more limited in their day-to-day functions. This is because emotions, beliefs and worries can affect how we feel pain

It is natural for many people to want know: what is causing my back pain? Many people feel that finding a single structure at ‘fault’ may help them treat their back pain. However, there are many structures in the lower back and it is very difficult to identify any one structure causing an issue. In fact, the way things appear on a scan, such as an X-ray or MRI, often does not always correlate with somebody’s pain. Even when changes are found on a scan many people have no pain. As a result, it is rarely necessary to have a scan of your back.

Accurate diagnosis can most often be made by the information that you provide in a clinical examination with your physiotherapist or GP.