Back Pain And Cancer

Could Your Back Pain Be Cancer?

By Jarrett Kruse

A number of spinal and muscular conditions can cause back pain, particularly lower back pain, but unfortunately so can cancer. If, after back pain treatment by a chiropractor, orthopedist, back pain doctor or other healthcare professional, you find that your back pain has not been relieved, it may be time to examine whether your pain is one of the symptoms of cancer. Remember that understanding the signs of cancer does not mean doom—it may help you rule out cancer as a cause of your back pain. With literally dozens of other possible causes and back pain risk factors in every day life, a close look at all your symptoms is more likely to turn up another cause.

The way most of us live, we’re bound to suffer from back pain at some point. Long periods of sitting, lack of exercise, and sudden movement are risk factors for back pain and can signal a number of conditions: herniated discs, sciatica, lumbar sprain, or muscles spasm to name a few. But it’s important to know when back pain can be a symptom of cancer as well.

Cancerous spinal tumors frequently spread from cancers in other parts of the body. You back pain may be a symptom of a spinal tumor if:

It’s accompanied by weakness or numbness in the arms or legs, or a change in bladder or bowel habits
The pain is in a small, specific area and is worse at night
The pain becomes more severe with pressure
The pain is accompanied by nausea, fever, chills, or loss of appetite

Back pain may also be a symptom of cancer in other organs, for example:

Back pain that increases with deep breathing can be a sign of lung cancer.
Focal pain where there has been no injury can be a sign of kidney cancer.