Quick Summary: Low back pain can feel like a dull ache, a sharp catch when you bend, stiffness, or a burn that builds by evening. It usually starts in muscles, joints, discs, the SI joint, or an irritated nerve. A careful exam shows which one is driving yours and whether you need medical care first.
Low back pain doesn’t feel the same for everyone. Some people wake up stiff and loosen up by mid-morning. Others feel fine at breakfast and are hurting by dinner. These are the patterns we hear most often:
MedlinePlus describes the same range, from a dull ache to burning or sharp pain, often with stiffness. The Mayo Clinic adds that bending, twisting, lifting, standing, or walking can make it worse, and that it can spread down a leg.
Who gets it? Just about everyone at some point. In our College Station office we see it in Texas A&M professors after long days at a desk, in parents lifting kids and car seats, in weekend athletes, and in oilfield and other physically demanding workers whose backs carry years of heavy loads. Long hours in a chair have their own pattern, which we cover in lower back pain when sitting.
The details matter more than a pain score from one to ten. When it started, what eases it, what flares it, and whether anything travels into your hip or leg all point toward where the problem is coming from.
Low back pain is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Think of it like a smoke alarm. It tells you something needs attention, but it doesn’t tell you where the fire started. Several different structures in the lower back can set it off, and more than one is often involved at the same time. These are the sources we check most often.
Muscle and ligament strain. This is the most common starting point for a sudden flare. Repeated heavy lifting or a quick, awkward movement can strain the muscles and ligaments that support the spine. Strain tends to feel achy and tight, sore to the touch, and worse with certain movements.
Irritated joints. The small facet joints along the back of the spine can become stiff and painful, especially when the discs between the vertebrae lose height with wear and the joints start to rub against each other. We see this often in people with a long history of heavy physical work.
Disc problems. The soft center of a disc can bulge or rupture and press on a nearby nerve. A herniated disc may cause pain that stays in the back, but it often shoots into the buttock or leg as well.
The SI joint. The sacroiliac joints sit where the lower spine meets the pelvis. Pain from them usually shows up in the buttock and lower back, can run into the thigh, and often flares with long periods of standing, sitting, or climbing stairs. That pattern is typical of SI joint dysfunction, and it’s easy to mistake for a disc problem or a hip issue.
Nerve involvement. When a nerve root gets irritated, pain can travel down the leg and bring numbness, tingling, or weakness with it. It’s the kind of pain where you can’t bend down without it shooting down your leg. That is the territory of sciatica, and it deserves a closer look than a sore muscle does.
Stress and a hard week. Some low back pain comes and goes with what’s happening in your life. The Mayo Clinic notes that stress can cause muscle tension that contributes to back pain, and that people prone to depression and anxiety appear to have a greater risk of it. If your back gets louder during a deadline, finals week, or a run of short nights, mention it at your exam. We’ve written more about why stress shows up physically and why so many people keep waking up between 2 and 4am.
These sources overlap. A stiff joint makes the muscles around it guard, and a worn disc changes how the joints above and below it move. That’s why we don’t guess based on where it hurts. Each source calls for a different plan, and the exam tells us which one is driving yours.
Every first visit starts with a detailed history. Dr. Hansen wants to know when the pain began, what you were doing, what makes it better or worse, and what you’ve already tried, from PT and massage to stretching, heat and ice, or injections. Then comes a hands-on exam: range of motion, orthopedic and neurologic testing, and palpation of the spine. Digital X-rays are taken in our office only when the exam findings call for them.
There’s a reason every visit starts with an exam. The right plan for a strained muscle looks nothing like the right plan for an irritated nerve. Dr. Hansen shows you what he found on a spine model or your X-rays and tells you plainly whether he believes he can help.
If care here is a good fit, visits follow three steps. Prime uses guided breathing to help your body settle out of a guarded state. Facilitate is a gentle, specific adjustment based on your exam, most often with Diversified technique. The pop is not the goal. Integrate covers what happens between visits: movement, sleep, and home exercises. Our sciatica and low back pain care is structured, often around 12 weeks, and progress is judged by your symptoms, your function, and how your joints move. Between visits, knowing when to use heat or ice can make a flare easier to manage.
Not every backache needs an appointment, but some shouldn’t be waited out. Based on Mayo Clinic guidance, it’s time to get your back checked when the pain:
We’d add two more. If you’ve started changing how you sit, sleep, or walk to avoid the pain, or pain medicine only buys you a few hours before it’s back, your body is telling you it’s time.
Some back pain needs medical care before anything else. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons calls cauda equina syndrome a surgical emergency. Go to the ER or call your doctor right away if you notice:
Dr. Hansen won’t adjust when these signs are present. He’ll send you to the ER or the right medical provider first. If none of them apply and your back keeps nagging you, schedule your first appointment and let’s find out what’s going on.
For most everyday low back pain, a chiropractor who examines you hands-on is a reasonable first stop. Dr. Hansen checks your range of motion, runs orthopedic and neurologic tests, and palpates the spine to find what’s driving the pain. If your pain comes with a fever, numbness in the groin, bladder or bowel changes, or followed a fall or accident, see a medical doctor or go to the ER first. If we find something outside our lane, we’ll refer you.
Night pain often comes down to position and stiffness. Lying still for hours lets an irritated joint or muscle tighten up, and rolling over loads it all at once. With SI joint pain, the Mayo Clinic notes that sleeping on the painful side can make it worse, so it may help to switch sides. If night pain comes with a fever or weight loss you can’t explain, see a medical provider first.
No. X-rays show bone and alignment well, but they don’t show muscles, ligaments, discs, or nerves, and they can’t show how your joints move or how a nerve responds to testing. That’s why we take digital X-rays only when your history and exam call for them. If your findings point to a disc or nerve problem that needs a closer look, Dr. Hansen will refer you for an MRI.
A pulled muscle usually stays in the back, feels achy and tight, and changes with how you move. Pain that travels down the leg, especially with numbness, tingling, or weakness, suggests a nerve is involved. That doesn’t automatically mean it’s serious, but it does mean it needs a proper exam. New bladder or bowel trouble, numbness in the groin or inner thighs, or a fever with back pain call for emergency care right away.
Yes. We regularly see patients who drive in from Bryan, Navasota, Caldwell, and across the Brazos Valley for low back pain. Many have already tried stretching, massage, PT, or pain pills before they come in. If you’re driving in, bring a short list of what you’ve tried and what helped even a little. That history makes your first exam more useful.
It shouldn’t. Adjustments here are gentle, specific, and controlled, based on what your exam shows, and the pop is not the goal. When your back is very sore, Dr. Hansen can switch to a lower-force technique like Activator or start with soft tissue work. If something doesn’t feel right during a visit, tell him and he’ll change course.
Proudly serving College Station and Bryan, River of Life Chiropractic starts every visit with a real exam, not a guess. Ready to find out what’s actually going on?
Real feedback from the patients we’ve had the privilege to care for
College Station is home base, but patients regularly drive in from Bryan, Navasota, Caldwell, and Snook for care, most traveling somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes to get here. Within College Station itself, we see a lot of familiar faces from Pebble Creek, Indian Lakes, Southern Pointe, and the Castlegate and Castlerock communities.
Wherever you are driving in from, the visit looks the same: a real exam first, X-rays when they are actually needed, and a plan built around what your body is showing us, not a guess based on your zip code.
Contact us for expert chiropractic care in College Station, TX.
Monday: 9am – 1pm, & 3pm – 6pm
Tuesday: 3pm – 6pm
Wednesday: 9am – 1pm, & 3pm – 6pm
Thursday: 9am – 1pm, & 3pm – 6pm
Friday: 9am – 1pm, & 3pm – 6pm
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed
