10 Tips: When to Go to the Emergency Room for Back Pain

10 Tips: When to Go to the Emergency Room for Back Pain

There is no pain that is more common than back pain, and it is one that can occur due to exercise or work, especially that which is physically exerting. If one suffers from back pain either from having done some heavy lifting or some exercise at home or at work that may have triggered it or even from taking part in sporting activities, for the most part, such back pain is usually not that serious and can be handled at home with the help of over-the-counter medication as well as rest. Back pain is also a common part of pregnancy for pregnant women and as such back pain is in most cases not something that would warrant a visit to an emergency room. However, there are instances where back pain may be a sign of something more sinister and on that may need a visit to an emergency room. This article will look to help one know when to go to an emergency room for back pain by highlighting 10 tips that show when you should do just that.

If you start to experience back pain after having suffered an accident that may have injured your back, then you should head over to an emergency room as soon as possible. This could be as a result of having been in a car or motorcycle accident or even after having suffered a high fall among other scenarios. In such a situation you should head over to an emergency room as soon as possible to be assessed.

Another instance where back pain should lead to a visit to an emergency room is if you are experiencing back pain as well as a prickly or tingling sensation in your back. This, as per the subject matter experts over at FrontlineER.com, is a sign that you may have suffered some damage or irritation to your nerves in the back and should always be treated with the utmost seriousness.

Another instance where back pain should lead to a visit to an emergency room is if it is accompanied by bladder or/and bowel incontinence. This means in situations where one has lost control of their bladder or bowel. This should always be taken very seriously as it may mean serious damage to ones back.

As was mentioned above, and as has been discussed in detail over at FrontlineER.com, back pain is pretty common for pregnant women. However, if the back pain is accompanied by pelvic and rectal pressure as well as the tightening of the abdominal muscles, then they should head over to an emergency room as soon as possible as this is a sign of preterm labor.

If you have gone through a situation that may have compromised your immune system such as recent surgery, chemotherapy or have a condition that compromises your immune system such as HIV/AIDS, then you should head over to an emergency room as soon as possible if you start presenting with persistent back pain.

Another tip we have for you as far as back pain and when to go to an emergency room, one that is backed up by the subject matter experts over at FrontlineER.com is if you start to experience back pain that is unexplained and is accompanied by pain while urinating. This should also be taken very seriously.

Given that back pain may be a sign of an ectopic pregnancy, if a pregnant woman starts to have back pain and an ectopic pregnancy hadn’t been ruled out when they went to have preliminary tests on her pregnancy done, then they should be taken to an emergency room as soon as possible as this sort of situations can be life-threatening if not attended to as soon as possible.

Back pain that is accompanied by a phenomenon called foot drop, which as is covered over at FrontlineER.com in great detail is where one begins to drag their toes along the ground as they walk, should also always lead to a visit to an emergency room. In such situations you will find that to be able to walk you have to raise your foot even higher than normal. Such a situation should be taken seriously and one should head over to an emergency room as soon as possible.

Age also plays an important role and as such if one is over the age of 70 years old and is experiencing back pain that is unexplained and which is persistent, then they should also be taken to an emergency room as soon as possible. This is important since folks of that age are very susceptible to tumors or getting infection.

Back pain that is accompanied by shooting pain down the arms or legs or even accompanied by paralysis or numbness in the arms or legs should also lead to a visit to an emergency room as soon as possible.

The above tips cover some of the scenarios where one should head over to an emergency room for back pain, with there being more to be uncovered on this topic by checking out the ever reliable FrontlineER.com.

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