Symptom checker
Back Pain Symptom Checker
Back pain is a symptom, not a diagnosis. The same ache can come from a disc, a joint, a narrowed nerve tunnel, or from something outside the spine entirely, and those possibilities lead to very different next steps. This checker works through the questions a spine surgeon would ask in clinic, then sets out what your answers point toward.
Free symptom checker, built by spine surgeons
Answer questions about your symptoms and add your MRI, CT or X-ray report if you have one. You get a written summary of what your answers point toward, and what to ask about next.
Start the free assessmentWhat the assessment asks you
- Where the pain sits, and whether it stays in your back or travels into a limb.
- What makes it worse and what settles it, including whether walking or sitting changes it.
- Whether there is numbness, pins and needles, or weakness, and exactly where.
- How it started, how long it has run, and whether it is getting worse.
- What your MRI, CT or X-ray report says, if you have one to add.
Conditions this can point to
Each guide below is written by a spine surgeon and sets out what the condition is, how it is assessed, and the warning signs it carries.
- Lower Back
Mechanical Low Back Pain
The most common type of low back pain: aching or stiffness confined to the lower back, without leg pain, that usually improves on its own with time and activity.
- Lower Back
Lumbar Disc Herniation
When part of a disc in the lower back displaces and presses on a nerve root, causing sciatica: pain, numbness, or weakness down the leg.
- Lower Back
Lumbar Radiculopathy
A pinched or inflamed nerve root in the lower back that sends sharp, burning, or electric pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness down the leg.
- Lower Back
Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
Narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower back that crowds the nerves, causing leg pain and heaviness with standing and walking that eases when you sit or lean forward.
- Lower Back
Degenerative Spondylolisthesis
A condition in which one lumbar vertebra slips forward on the one below due to age-related wear, narrowing the spinal canal and causing back pain and leg symptoms.
- General
Vertebral Compression Fracture
A structural collapse of the vertebral body, most commonly caused by osteoporosis, that produces sudden back pain and, with multiple fractures over time, progressive height loss and spinal deformity.
- Pelvis
SI Joint Pain as a Spine Mimic
Pain from the SI joint, where your pelvis meets the base of your spine, is commonly mistaken for a lumbar disc or nerve problem.
- General
Hip Osteoarthritis as a Spine Mimic
Hip osteoarthritis frequently mimics lumbar spine conditions by producing groin, thigh, and buttock pain that overlaps with spinal nerve-root territories, making accurate diagnosis essential before any treatment is started.
Common questions
- What is causing my back pain?
- Most back pain comes from one of a handful of sources: the discs, the facet joints, the sacroiliac joint, a narrowed nerve tunnel, or the muscles and ligaments supporting the spine. Which one it is usually turns on where the pain travels, what makes it worse, and whether there is any numbness or weakness. This checker asks those questions in the order a spine surgeon would and shows you what the pattern fits.
- Is this back pain quiz free?
- Yes. The assessment is free and you get the full written summary at the end. It was built by spine surgeons rather than assembled from generic health content.
- Can a symptom checker diagnose my back pain?
- No. No online tool can diagnose you, because a diagnosis needs an examination and usually imaging. What this does is narrow the field, tell you which questions matter, and give you a written summary to hand to a clinician so the appointment starts further along.
- When should I see a doctor about back pain?
- Urgently if you have any of the warning signs listed on this page, in particular new bladder or bowel changes, numbness around the groin, or weakness that is worsening. Otherwise, if pain has not started to settle after a few weeks, or it is stopping you sleeping or working, it is worth being seen.
- Do I need my MRI report to use this?
- No, the assessment works without it. If you do have an MRI, CT or X-ray report you can add it, and the summary will explain what the findings in it actually mean in relation to your symptoms, which is usually the part patients are left guessing at.
This symptom checker is general education, not medical advice, and it cannot diagnose you. It cannot account for your examination findings or your full history. Use it to prepare for an appointment with a qualified clinician, not to replace one. If you have any of the warning signs listed on this page, seek urgent care now.