Unexplained back pain is an increasingly common problem for many patients who do not know why they are suffering so terribly or for so long. This type of condition is also called idiopathic pain. Patients who are suffering with back ache from an unknown cause are particularly prone to experiencing frustration and fear as they speculate about what the future holds for them.
When it comes to pain, people like to know the source; not guess or speculate about it. It is for this very reason that patients are more inclined to accept diagnostic theories presented to them which basically make no sense. Remember, misdiagnosis is rampant in the dorsalgia sector with countless millions of people believing they are suffering from particular structural issues, when all along their pain is a result of some other anatomical or psychoemotional process, injury or condition.
The nature of idiopathic symptoms means that no definitive cause is known. However, in some instances, a cause might be suspected. Very few cases of idiopathic back pain are truly physically-induced by a suspected source.
Medical science excels in the diagnosis and treatment of physical pain conditions and the chance that one will elude them is rare. In most diagnostic scenarios, the theorized causative process will demonstrate some definitive pathological component or not. It is as simple as that.
When no definite cause exists, either another structural issue is at fault, but not yet discovered, a disease or systemic origin exists, or the symptoms might be caused by a psychological process. This psychological back pain is one of the most common types of pain suffered, but the least common type diagnosed worldwide.
How does this make sense?
If the pain can not be linked to a definite cause, there is little hope for successful treatment. Although a cure is unlikely, symptomatic treatment will be administered to make the patient more comfortable. This is humane, but can often lead to health problems and addictions, especially when the treatment involves powerful pharmaceutical drugs.
Any back doctor who makes a diagnosis of unexplained back pain should be given a commendation. It is rare for a doctor to admit that they really do not know where the pain is coming from. Many believe it is better to say something, albeit a virtual guess, than to admit defeat and pronounce no definitive cause. When you factor in the possibility of a nice payday for treatment of said pronounced condition, doctors would have to be crazy to say they do not know what to treat. Only the best physicians will admit this and give up the easy money.
It is far more common to diagnose pain related to some innocent scapegoat condition in the spine. This is another reason why so many patients are in treatment, yet never recover. They are being treated for a condition that is not even responsible for any of their pain.
If you have been diagnosed with idiopathic back pain, consider yourself extremely lucky. At least you will not have to endure the trial of treatment after treatment for an incorrectly identified source of symptoms. You will not have to go through unneeded and possibly permanently damaging surgery. Instead, you can continue your research knowing that if something really serious was wrong with your spine, it would have likely been found.
Keep looking and hopefully, you will eventually narrow down the possibilities to a definitive causation. If structural issues seem lacking, then always investigate the possibility for a mindbody source of pain.