How serious is lower back ache?

I am a30 yr old women suffering from low back pain for past one month. I am also facing difficulties in climbing down the stairs, it pains very badly but while climbing up it is okay. my back also sometimes makes a shuttering sound as if my bones are clapping. please suggest.

Hi, thank you for replying to my question. The pain goes down the back of my leg and my toe is still numb. I've considered going to the doctor but the truth is, i'm terrified that he or she respectively, is going to suggest surgery. I work in a hospital and I've seen too many cases were people end up even worse off than they were before. I've didn't injure myself prior to this incident and i never paid much mind to it. This has happened before and it always went away after a while so i didn't really consider it to be such a huge problem. But since my toe has gone numb I've really been worried. And thanks to your suggestions I will make an appointment with my doctor just to check it out for me. I'll let you know.

I am so sorry you are experiencing so much discomfort but I agree with all the suggestions posted so far. One thing is to experience chronic back pain associated with overuse, posture, previous injury or age-related degeneration of vertebrates. But in your case it sounds like the nerves are involved. There is a range of possible causes and a neurologist may be the best doctor to consult. He may suggest having a nerve conduction test to evaluate possible damage but be cautious not to rush to surgery if this is the recommendation. There are alternative options that you could consider once a diagnosis is made. I would also have your neuro look into spinal stenosis which is a highly undiagnosed condition. Wish you well!

If your pain is enough for you to even consider going to your doctor, please go and see if you can find the cause.

You pain might be sciatica, but it might be something else. I'd certainly want to rule out serious conditions, wouldn't you?

Do you ever use alternative therapies - chiropractic or kinesthesiology? They might give a different diagnosis than a tradition doctor or physical therapist and are worth checking out.

Morgan, thanks so much for your question. Let's see what we can find for you.

Lower back pain in itself is very common. But it sounds like you're used to dealing with that, and that this seems different. Am I right?

Is the reason that you can't put all your weight on your right leg due to pain, or to the numbness, or to both?

With your description of pins and needles in your toes and your numbness in your big toe, you might actually want to see a doctor. Those symptoms can occur with something like a pinched nerve or sciatica, which would continue to bother you while you're sitting or standing (and most likely regardless of what shoes you wear).

Here's a page that discusses possible causes of numbness and tingling in the toes:

http://www.medicinenet.com/numbness_toes/symptoms.htm

And here's the Mayo Clinic's page on sciatica, which also has links to click on for symptoms and treatment:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sciatica/DS00516

Here's how they describe sciatic nerve pain:

"The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in your body. It runs from your spinal cord to your buttock and hip area and down the back of each leg. The term "sciatica" refers to pain that radiates along the path of this nerve — from your back down your buttock and leg."

Does that sound like the familiar path your pain takes? You didn't mention whether it ran down the front or back of your thigh.

The Mayo site says that in most cases, it goes away in six to eight weeks, if this is what you're dealing with. But it's impossible to know for sure unless you have someone look at it; and a doctor can prescribe anti-inflammatory medicine and/or muscle relaxants. If you have a herniated disc, physical therapy helps.

Do you work at a computer or in a job where you are sitting all day long?

Just to be sure, did anything happen two weeks ago before this started? A pulled muscle, extra exertion, a fall? Or is it something that just seemed to develop on its own accord?