Harvard Health Publishing
Managing chronic back pain
There are many possible causes of chronic back pain. Besides an injury, common ones include fibromyalgia, degenerative disc disease, spondylitis (inflammatory arthritis of the spine), vertebral compression fractures caused by osteoporosis, and spinal stenosis. Your treatment path for these conditions can vary. For all of them, however, you’ll most likely begin with conservative approaches to address the pain, typically over-the-counter pain relievers and physical therapy.