Are there different types of back (spine) pain?
Spine pain may be divided into several distinct types of benign pain syndromes: mechanical pain, radicular pain, and myofascial pain. Mechanical pain is often confined to the neck or low back region. It may radiate in a limited fashion, i.e., to the elbow in the upper extremities or the knee in the lower extremities. It is often described as a dull aching pain. Radicular pain originates in the nerve root and refers pain to another area of the body. In the upper extremities it may radiate to the fingers, shoulder, or neck. In the lower extremities, it may radiate to the toes, calves, or heels. It may have a sharp shooting quality or persistent, boring quality. Some cases are associated with intermittent or persistent patterns of numbness and burning. Myofascial pain can have qualities of both mechanical and radicular pain. It is primarily the result of muscle pain patterns and may be well-defined or diffuse in nature. The majority of spinal pain difficulties, greater than 80%, occur in
