(连载之一)
背部疼痛为一种常见的慢性疼痛疾病。根据美国的统计，急性下背痛（也称为腰痛）是第五个最常见的看医生的原因。每十个成年人中有九个曾患过下背部疼痛。
背部疼痛的分类：背部疼痛可以分为颈部疼痛，上背部疼痛，下背部或腰痛和尾骨疼痛。
背部疼痛的性质：背部疼痛既可为突发性，也可为是慢性疼痛，可以为持续不断的或间歇性的疼痛。可以局限于某一部位，也可辐射到其他部位。疼痛的性质可以示沉闷钝性的疼痛，也可以是尖锐或穿刺性的。疼痛可能会辐射到其他部位，如胳膊和手。疼痛可以伴有非疼痛症状，如无力或麻木。
背部疼痛往往源于脊椎和其周边组织。由于脊椎是一个复杂由神经，关节，肌肉，肌腱和韧带所组成的网络结构，背部疼痛既可能是慢性功能性症状，也可能是严重病变的一种征候。必须注意的警告迹象包括：大便或小便失禁，双腿疲软无力，发热，体重减轻，不断加重的疼痛，创伤后疼痛，癌症史，等等。
大多数背部疼痛发作是自限性而非进展性的。大多数背痛是由于炎症，尤其是在急性期，一般持续两个星期至3个月。 研究表明，百分之八十五以上的背部疼痛没有直接的生理原因。另外一些研究表明，心理因素，如工作压力和家庭关系矛盾可能比更骨关节病变与慢性背痛有更密切的关联。
Back Pain
Back pain is one of the common conditions with chronic pain. According to the U.S. data, acute lower back pain is the fifth most common reason for visiting doctors. Nine out of ten adults have life time experience of lower back pain.
Back pain can be divided into neck pain, upper back pain, lower back pain or lumbago, and coccydynia.
The characteristics of back pain: Back pain may be acute or chronic; continuous or intermittent; localized or radiating to other locations; dull ache or sharp and piercing pain. Back pain often radiates to other locations, such as arm or hand. Back pain can also be accompanied by non-pain symptoms, such as weakness and numbness.
Back pain often originated from spinal cord and surrounding structures. Due to the complexity of networking in nerves, joints, muscles, tendons, ligments surrounding spinal cord, back pain may be chronic and functional, yet it could be a warning sign of severe pathology. Warning signs that deserve immediate medical attention include: bower or bladder incontinence, weakness of lower extremities, fever, significant weight loss, progressively worsening pain, post-injury pain, history of malignancy, etc.
The vast majority of back pain episodes are self-limiting and non-progressive. Many back pain conditions are due to inflammation, particularly during acute phase that usually last a few weeks. Research has found that over 85% of back pain episodes are associated with no direct physiological cause. There is also data implied that psychological causes, such as work pressure and relationship discort, may have closer connection to chronic back pain than structural impairment.
疼痛医学涵盖的领域包括疼痛的生理和心理研究，预防，临床评估和治疗。
