Learn More About Low Back Pain
What is low back pain?
For adults, back pain is a common complaint. Most people experience some type of back pain in their life. Back pain can occur in the upper, middle, or lower back. The most common back pain is experienced in the lower back. The most common causes of back pain are strains and sprains. The good news is that most people who experience low back pain will recover within four to six weeks.
What can cause low back pain?
Some conditions that may cause low back pain include:
- ruptured or herniated disc
- degeneration of the discs
- spinal stenosis
- osteoarthritis of the spine
How can I prevent back pain?
The best way to prevent low back pain is to stay fit. Learn to lift objects correctly. Avoid lifting while reaching, twisting, or bending forward. Keep work surfaces at a comfortable height. Good posture can also help reduce back stress and prevent back pain.
Participate and Take Control
If you have been living with chronic back pain, there are healthy choices you can make on a daily basis to help manage your condition. Learn to identify and act on the risk factors you can control for back pain. Help is available for BCBSNM members — call toll-free 1-866-252-8106 for more information about our disease management programs.
Tools and Information
Some of the information below is available in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. If you need Acrobat Reader, download it free of charge from Adobe's site.
- Low back pain information via the Personal Health Manager: BCBSNM members can log in to Blue Access for Members to access extensive information on back pain.
- Low back pain information on other health-related Web sites*:
*We do our best to ensure that the information on the other health-related Web sites listed above is useful, but can't be responsible for the content of those sites or any information you may take from them (please read our legal disclaimer). When you click on a choice above, it will open in a new window so that you can explore that site without having to leave here. When you are through visiting the other site, you can close that window and return to the BCBSNM site.
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