Lower back pain is pain in the lumbar region, the stretch of spine between your ribs and your pelvis, and it can stay put or spread into the buttock and leg. Lumbago is an older name for the same thing. Nearly everyone has it at some point, and the NHS says it usually improves within a few weeks, though it can last longer or keep coming back.
Serious causes are uncommon: the NHS says back pain is only very rarely a sign of something like a broken bone, cancer or an infection. The more useful question for most people is where the pain is coming from.
Most lower back pain is mechanical, and often no single cause is found
Mechanical pain comes from the working parts of the back, the joints and discs of the spine and the muscles and ligaments around them. Most back pain is mechanical or has no specific origin, and for most people no single clear cause is ever found.
Even so, the usual culprits each leave their own clues, and our guide to the seven common causes of back pain goes through them one at a time.
A nerve under pressure can send symptoms all the way down the leg
Sciatica is irritation or compression of the sciatic nerve. It usually affects the bottom and the back of one leg, often reaching the foot, with burning pain, pins and needles, numbness or weakness. Any back pain tends to be milder than the leg pain, and sciatica can occur with no back pain at all.
A slipped disc is the most common cause, and our explainer on bulging and herniated discs sets out what those two scan terms mean. Spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the space the nerves pass through, is another. In piriformis syndrome, a muscle deep in the buttock irritates the nerve further down. Symptoms in both legs at once are a different matter and need emergency care.
Some pain felt in the lower back starts in an organ instead
Organs close to the spine can send pain to the back. Kidney stones and an abdominal aortic aneurysm are examples, and so are problems with the gallbladder or pancreas and conditions of the female reproductive organs such as endometriosis. The clues tend to sit outside the back: pain that no change of position eases, or severe pain in the abdomen, is a reason to see a doctor before anyone treats the back.
Guidance favours keeping active over bed rest, with exercise at the centre
Staying in bed can feel like the careful choice, but the guidance points the other way. The NHS advises staying active and carrying on with daily activities rather than spending long periods in bed, and NICE's guideline on low back pain asks clinicians to encourage people to keep up their normal activities.
Keeping active is not the same as pushing through sharp pain. The usual approach is to cut back only briefly and then build your usual activities up gradually, so if an afternoon of gardening set your back off, that might mean short walks rather than more digging for a while. The NHS lists walking, swimming, yoga and pilates among the activities that may help.
NICE also recommends considering a group exercise programme for a flare-up, and says hands-on treatment such as spinal manipulation, mobilisation or massage should be considered only as part of a package that includes exercise.
Long-lasting pain is called chronic, and treatment looks beyond the spine
Pain that lasts longer than about three months is called chronic, and it is not rare: StatPearls, a clinical reference on NCBI Bookshelf, estimates that up to 23% of adults worldwide have chronic lower back pain.
Pain that lingers does not always mean damage that is still happening. NINDS explains that the nervous system can become more sensitive, and it lists chronic low back pain among its examples of pain driven by changes in how that system processes pain. StatPearls names exercise therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy as first-line treatments for chronic back pain, with spinal manipulation and massage among the second-line options.
A Sync specialist measures how your back moves and says so early if a doctor is needed
Care at The Sync starts with assessment. SpinalSync tests each segment of the spine on its own and combines the readings, which go on a screen as they are taken. Adaptive piezoelectric biosensors then deliver the adjustment at a controlled force, angle and depth, so it does not vary by practitioner or by day, and manual adjustment is still used when it is the right call. Treatment is gentle by design, with instrument-guided, low-force input for anyone who would rather not be adjusted by hand.
MyoSync works with fascia, the connective tissue sheet that wraps and links everything else and has to glide for you to move well, when muscle tension, fascial restriction or reduced mobility is part of the picture. Measuring again later shows what has changed. Both systems are set out on our methods page, and before a first appointment it is worth reading how safe chiropractic care is and who should see a doctor first.
The Sync does not diagnose, prescribe medication, inject, operate, or provide or read imaging. Its work supports comfort and movement alongside medical care, and a Sync specialist says so early when something needs a doctor.
Common questions about lower back pain
Sometimes. Kidney infections and kidney stones are among the possible causes of low back pain, and kidney stones tend to hurt in the flank, at the sides of the lower back. Burning when you pee, blood in your urine or a fever alongside the pain are reasons to contact a doctor promptly.
Usually not at first. NICE advises against routinely offering imaging for low back pain outside specialist care, and StatPearls notes that disc and joint changes are common in adults with no back pain at all, so a finding on a scan does not always explain the pain. Whether you need one is a doctor's call.
The NHS suggests seeing a doctor if the pain has not improved after a few weeks of looking after it at home, or if it is stopping you from doing everyday things. Numbness around the genitals, a change in bladder or bowel control, or a fever need a doctor much sooner.
A Sync specialist assesses and measures how your lower back moves, supports comfort and movement, and measures again later so change can be seen. The Sync does not diagnose, prescribe medication, inject, operate, or provide or read imaging. If anything in the assessment points to a doctor, a Sync specialist says so first.
Written by the Aphyx Content team, reviewed by the clinical team at The Sync. Published 16 October 2026. Last updated 16 October 2026.