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Back pain can be caused by many different things. Only about 1 in 25 people with pain in their lower back caused by a physical problem have a slipped disk.¹

If you do have a slipped disk, the pain is caused by the damaged disk pressing on a nerve. The main symptoms of a slipped disk are back pain and sciatica. Sciatica is a pain that spreads down through your buttocks and your leg.

The pain from a slipped disk can start in different ways. You might feel an ache in your lower back after you do something that you're not used to, even something like raking leaves.² Some hours later, the pain gets so bad that you can't move very easily.

Or you may get severe pain all of a sudden, without warning. Some people say it can feel like being stabbed with a knife.

Serious pain can keep you from carrying out your normal activities. It's worth talking to your doctor about it. To figure out whether you have a slipped disk, your doctor will need to find out if doing different kinds of movements hurts you.³

If you have a slipped disk that's causing problems, you'll almost always get pain in your buttocks, thighs, legs and feet. Usually the pain is only on one side.

You may also get numbness, weakness or tingling in the same area.

These symptoms mean the damaged disk is pressing on a sciatic nerve. Sciatica can come on at the same time as the back pain or it may come on later.

With sciatica you can find it uncomfortable to sit down, stand up, or to bend over. You will also find it painful to lift the affected leg while you're lying down. This is one of the tests doctors use to diagnose sciatica.

You can often get relief by getting into certain comfortable positions, such as lying down.⁴

Although 9 in 10 people with sciatica do have a slipped disk, having sciatica doesn't prove that you have a damaged disk.⁵

To learn more, see Do I have sciatica?

If you have back pain and you also lose control of your bowels or bladder, or if your arms or legs feel numb or weak, you need to get medical help at once. These symptoms can mean one of two things.

• Your slipped disk could be pressing on the spinal cord (doctors call this spinal cord compression).
• Your slipped disk could be pressing on the nerves that run down from the bottom of the spinal cord. Doctors call these nerves the cauda equina. If these nerves are being damaged, it is called cauda equina syndrome.

We don't talk about treating spinal cord compression or cauda equina syndrome here. But they are medical emergencies. If you have these symptoms, you may need surgery right away to relieve the pressure on the affected nerves.

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment. ©BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved.