Lower back pain may be easy to feel, but its cause and recovery are not always easy to judge. Teresa Shen discusses seven issues patients often overlook, including residual problems after pain settles, MRI findings, long-term physical load, sudden triggers and signs that require further assessment.

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When lower back pain spreads into the buttock or leg, many people assume they have sciatica caused by a slipped or herniated disc. But similar symptoms can come from a lumbar nerve root, the sciatic nerve itself, other peripheral nerves, or muscles around the hip and buttock. The source of the pain matters because it changes the treatment.

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