What is the Difference Between Chronic and Acute Back Pain?

You may have heard the terms acute and chronic in reference to various pains or injuries. Acute refers to a short term pain or injury, while chronic refers to long term. Back pain, in general, is one of the most problematic health complications in the U.S. Lower back pain is actually the fifth most reason for patients to visit their doctor, and it is the second most symptomatic reason for visits, according the National Library of Medicine.

Back pain can be caused by various types of injuries, or even imbalances. The top injuries that cause back pain are car collisions, work accidents, and falls. They can be life-changing depending on the severity of the injury. A serious back injury or chronic pain can limit a person’s exercise ability, which sends them into a further declining state of health. Back pain can limit a victim’s ability to work and earn the same wages they were once capable of, and it can keep them from participating in normal, everyday life events such as picking up their children or going on walks with the dog. If your or your loved one’s back injury was caused by the negligence of another, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries.

As citizens of this country, we all owe each other a duty of care. While driving, this duty binds us to operate our vehicles in safe, thoughtful manners that do not jeopardize the health and lives of others. At work, your employer must act with care by not asking you to perform unnecessarily dangerous tasks, by providing the proper safety gear and training their employees require, and by creating a safe work environment free of slippery floors, unsafe scaffolding, and cluttered walkways. All store or business owners are also bound to act with care by creating a safe environment for all those who enter. If you have been injured by another’s negligent actions, contact an experienced personal injury attorney immediately. Even if the injury did not seem bad at first, back injuries can linger and even grow worse of the months and years following a bad accident. Many states of two or three year statutes of limitations, meaning that you have that amount of time to file a claim from the date of the injury.

Acute Versus Chronic Back Pain

Acute back pain can last up to half a year, according to Spine Health, and is caused by tissue damage. During the weeks or months of acute pain, it is important to take as many steps as possible to get over the injury and repair the damage, as the longer that acute pain lasts, the more likely that it will turn into long-lasting chronic pain. Chronic pain is pain that lasts longer than six months, and may be due to muscle or ligament damage, or may be caused by pressure being put on the spinal cord from a bulging or herniated disc, loss of disc fluid, or spinal stenosis. Additionally, there may be no physical cause of the pain for those who suffer from chronic back pain. After the original injury healed, the strong neurological pain pathway that was built during the injury may have lasted. This benign pain has no cause; it is simply pain without a physical injury, which can be especially frustrating. If you or a loved one have suffered from a back injury, contact an experienced personal injury attorney today.