A 27-year-old construction worker presents to the primary care office with the chief complaint of having low back pain for the last four months. He describes the pain as a gradual onset of non-radiating, aching pain that becomes worse with inactivity and at night. He also notes morning stiffness that lasts between 20 to 30 minutes. He says he has suffered from low back for the past eight years but attributed the pain to his job.

A father brings his 16-year-old son to the primary care office. The boy has a chief complaint of low back pain, which he has had for the past six weeks. The son describes the pain as a gradual onset of non-radiating, aching pain with associated hamstring tightness that becomes worse after playing football and improves with rest. He has been playing on the high school football team for the last three years. He currently practices three to four hours a day, five days a week.

Common causes of low back pain include lumbar strain, lumbar radiculopathy, bony encroachment, and other neuropathic, spinal or disc ailments. The lower back is the strongest and most flexible part of the spinal column with large muscle groups connected to it, which makes the lumbar region especially prone to injury. The spinal cord also terminates between vertebrae in the low back and leads to nerve roots and the sciatic nerve which travels down the legs.