大约有70%～80%的男性（女性的比例也大致如此）正在忍受着中度到重度腰背痛的折磨。该问题带来的不仅是疼痛和不便，每年因此而花费的医疗费用及损失掉的劳动力价值高达500亿美元。根据哈佛大学男性健康检测中心2006年11月份刊报道，也许那些花费了金钱和时间最终使腰背疼复原的报道令人鼓舞，但在大多数情况下，如果没有医生的指导和治疗，腰背痛将不会很快缓解。
如果你有常见的腰背痛，一定要对自己留意了。你需要知道腰背痛时应该如何做以及识别哪些症状需要马上进行医学检查和治疗，因此哈佛大学男性健康检测中心11月刊特意增加了腰背部运动的增刊。
在大多数情况下，腰背痛是由于机械原因造成的，很难具体的解释清楚，但是有时也可能是其他一些较严重的原因造成的，这些可能的原因包括炎症、血管疾病、肿瘤及其它疾病。因此了解预示严重疾病的“红色预警”信号非常重要。这些信号包括新近严重损伤、小腿的放射性疼痛、长期疼痛、上背部及胸部疼痛、不明原因的发烧或者体重减轻及夜间疼痛加剧。
大约有90％的普通的机械性腰背部疼痛无需特殊治疗即可缓解，但是这需要一段时间，大约30％的病人在一周内能有明显好转，而另外60％的患者则需长达8周的时间才能逐步好转。
Back Pain--when To See A Doctor
Main Category: Pain / Anesthetics News
Article Date: 23 Oct 2006 - 0:00am (PDT)
Some 70%-80% of men (and nearly as many women) have endured a bout of moderate to severe back pain. And the problem goes well beyond pain and inconvenience; the annual cost of medical care and lost productivity is more than $50 billion. It would be encouraging to report that this investment of time and money results in recovery, but in most cases back pain will resolve as quickly without medical attention as it will with a doctor's care, according to the November 2006 issue of Harvard Men's Health Watch.
If you have garden-variety back pain, you can probably take care of it yourself. The trick is to know what to do and to recognize those symptoms that really do call for prompt medical tests and treatments. To help you help yourself, the November issue of Harvard Men's Health Watch contains a special supplement on back exercises.
In the vast majority of cases, back pain is caused by a mechanical problem that can't be pinpointed exactly. But occasional cases result from some other, more serious causes. The possibilities include infections, vascular disease, and tumors, among other things. That's why it's important to know the “red flag” warning signs that suggest serious problems. Among these are recent major injury, radiation of pain down a leg, pain that is constant, pain in the upper back or chest, unexplained fever or weight loss, and pain that increases at night.
About 90% of people with ordinary mechanical low back pain get over it without special therapy. But it takes time to recover. About 30% of patients are substantially improved in just a week, but another 60% take up to eight weeks to get better.
编辑：蓝色幻想
