Low back pain
LBPLow back pain is pain felt in the lumbar region between the bottom of the rib cage and the top of the legs.
It is one of the most common reasons adults seek medical care and a leading cause of missed work worldwide. Most episodes are called nonspecific, meaning no single structure is clearly responsible, and they settle over days to weeks. A smaller share involves a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, a vertebral fracture or, rarely, infection or tumor. Pain may be dull and constant or sharp with movement, and it can radiate into the buttock or leg.
Clinicians classify low back pain as acute, subacute or chronic depending on how long it has lasted, and they screen for warning signs such as numbness, weakness, fever or bladder changes that call for urgent evaluation. Imaging is reserved for cases where those signs appear. Cannabinoids have been studied for chronic pain, including back pain, and the evidence remains limited and inconsistent.