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What are the Most Common Causes of Back Pain and Fatigue?

Troy Holmes
Troy Holmes

Back pain is often a crippling disorder that can make it difficult for an individual to perform normal activities in his daily life. Fatigue is a feeling of extreme exhaustion, which also makes life difficult. If an individual is suffering from both back pain and fatigue, he may have a serious problem. The most common causes of these symptoms include disk injury, severe muscle pulls, cancer, kidney issues, and fibromyalgia.

The back is a complex structure that is made of the muscles, spinal disks, and the spinal cord. This is a sensitive area for humans because it manages thousands of senses and nerves throughout the body. A severe disk injury can cause pain and fatigue. The pain can lead to muscle spasms that become overwhelming for the nervous system, which causes extreme fatigue throughout the body.

Fibroymyalgia is a common cause of back pain and fatigue.
Fibroymyalgia is a common cause of back pain and fatigue.

Fibroymyalgia is a nerve disorder that causes pain in the body that is felt in the muscles and tendons. Most individuals who suffer from this disorder have difficulty sleeping, which causes overall fatigue. Lower back pain and fatigue is a combined symptom that is often described by many fibromyalgia suffers. Strong pain medicine is typically required to reduce theses symptoms.

A pulled muscle may cause back pain and fatigue.
A pulled muscle may cause back pain and fatigue.

Kidney stones often cause these symptoms as well. When an individual feels sharp pains in his lower back near the kidneys, he should seek medical evaluation. This is typically a sign of an oncoming kidney stone attack. Additional symptoms include fever and blood in the urine. Removing kidneys stones is a painful process that can require several days in the hospital, but the pain will not subside until the stones have been removed.

Back pain caused by a pulled muscle can be treated by applying an ice pack to the area.
Back pain caused by a pulled muscle can be treated by applying an ice pack to the area.

There are many types of cancer that cause lower back pain and fatigue. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death throughout the world, and it destroys various parts of the body. Some examples of cancer that may cause back pain are ovarian, kidney, and prostate cancer. Many individuals who suffer from cancer can also develop symptoms of lower back pain from chemotherapy treatments.

Lifting heavy boxes can cause a pulled muscle that leads to back pain and fatigue.
Lifting heavy boxes can cause a pulled muscle that leads to back pain and fatigue.

A back muscle pull can also cause pain, which in turn causes fatigue. This type of injury is common for individuals who lift heavy equipment or boxes. Lower back injuries require rest, therapy, and medication to limit the muscles spasms that occur with a muscle pull. An individual who suffers from this type of injury will require several weeks of low impact therapy to reduce the inflammation and swelling. This is typically accomplished by using cold ice pack treatments with muscle relaxant medication.

Discussion Comments

SarahGen

I had these symptoms last year and thought that they were related. It turned out they have nothing to do with each other. My back pain was due to a pinched nerve and my body fatigue was a symptom of my hypothyroidism.

burcinc

@fify-- Chronic pain and constant fatigue are symptoms of fibromyalgia. But these are also symptoms of other conditions like arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome and Lyme disease. Diagnosing fibromyalgia is not easy. It requires testing for multiple conditions and if no other disorder is found, the patient might be diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

Does your daughter's back pain and fatigue always intensify at certain times of the day? Does she also have problem sleeping, muscle stiffness and gastro-intestinal issues? These are additional signs of fibromyalgia.

fify
My daughter (she's 32) has been complaining of a constant back pain and fatigue for the past several weeks. She says that the back pain is an aching type of pain. It doesn't prevent her from getting around but is bothering her. She also has weakness and fatigue. She takes naps often. If we go out even for an hour, she's exhausted.

I suffer from a lumbar herniated disc and know the kind of pain that can cause. My daughter's back pain doesn't sound like it's from an injury. Could it be fibromyalgia? How is fibromyalgia diagnosed?

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    • Fibroymyalgia is a common cause of back pain and fatigue.
      By: mangostock
      Fibroymyalgia is a common cause of back pain and fatigue.
    • A pulled muscle may cause back pain and fatigue.
      By: codrin
      A pulled muscle may cause back pain and fatigue.
    • Back pain caused by a pulled muscle can be treated by applying an ice pack to the area.
      By: nito
      Back pain caused by a pulled muscle can be treated by applying an ice pack to the area.
    • Lifting heavy boxes can cause a pulled muscle that leads to back pain and fatigue.
      By: Cyril Comtat
      Lifting heavy boxes can cause a pulled muscle that leads to back pain and fatigue.
    • Kidney stones may cause back pain.
      By: airborne77
      Kidney stones may cause back pain.
    • Back pain and fatigue could be the result of a chronic health condition.
      By: gstockstudio
      Back pain and fatigue could be the result of a chronic health condition.