Back pain is usually nothing to worry about, but in some specific cases, you may need to pay attention to your back.

Lower back pain is very common, affecting approximately one in eight people. The good news is that 80-90% of low back pain is harmless and may come and go.

It may keep you down for a few days or a week, but generally, low back pain gets better quickly and you can get on with your life.

When it comes to treating mild back pain, taking an anti-inflammatory drug like Advil or aspirin, getting moderate rest (limiting activities that put stress on your back, but not taking full bed rest), and regularly icing the affected area can help.

But when back pain becomes more than a nuisance, getting checked out by a doctor can play an important role in preventing more serious health problems. Here, experts share the back pain you shouldn’t wait for or ignore entirely:

Back Pain With Loss Of Bladder Control

If you have back pain and are unable to regulate your bladder or have bowel movements, this is a sign that you need to go to the emergency room.

This means there is something in the spinal canal, such as a herniated disc or lesion, that is compressing your nerves, affecting the nerves in your bladder and bowel, causing temporary paralysis. If this nerve is pinched for too long, it can be difficult for it to recover and function properly again.

Back Pain With Fevers

If you notice that your back pain is getting worse along with your fever, it could be a sign of a more serious condition, such as an infection.

It’s extremely rare, and of course people can have fever for a variety of reasons, but when accompanied by ongoing back pain, it may raise concerns about an epidural abscess (a collection of pus that can affect the brain or spinal cord).

Back Pain With Accompanying Leg Pain

Radiating pain can start in the buttocks and travel up the legs, along with numbness, tingling, or weakness in the legs, such as dragging the feet when walking or difficulty lifting the feet, which is another sign that a nerve or collection of nerves is pinched. This can be caused by bone spurs (small protrusions that form along the edges of bones), herniated discs (a problem with the rubbery discs between the bones of the spine), or stenosis (slow narrowing of the spinal canal).

While stenosis cannot be completely cured, many people with this chronic condition can easily learn about its triggers and how to manage symptoms so that it becomes tolerable in their daily lives.

Upper Back Pain Near The Neck

Many people experience pain in their upper back below the neck and think it is back pain, but this is not the case. That pain comes from your neck, and the reason why it’s different is because that’s your spinal cord. In fact, the spinal cord runs through your neck and is a direct extension of your brain.

If you experience upper back pain along with tingling or weakness in your hands, or if you notice that you are unsteady and have a change in your gait, this may be a sign that there is a problem with your spinal cord and that you need to be checked out by a doctor.

One might think that problems like buttons on your shirt or difficulty wearing earrings, which are common in older age, could be due to arthritis, but if this keeps happening, you need to see your doctor and get a neurological exam. If caught early, the injury can be avoided, but if the spinal cord is affected, the condition usually does not get better.