Back pain is on of the most common reasons for visiting a primary care physician. 80% of Americans experience low back pain some time during their lifetime and multiple episodes are common. Symptoms vary with the area involved, but commonly include discomfort at the beltline with spread of pain into the buttocks and possibly down one thigh. Generally these symptoms respond well to conservative treatment such as 1 or 2 days of rest, ice packs, and gentle exercises and stretching. Sometimes your doctor will need to prescribe pain medications or physical therapy. For the vast majority of patients these episodes are short and complete recovery is the rule. Generally the pain is expected to resolve within 1 to 6 weeks. If you still have pain in 4 to 6 weeks, especially if you have trouble going to the bathroom, or have associated weight loss, pain at night or more pain or weakness than usual in your backbone, or if your signs get worse instead of better tell your doctor right away. These might be the signs of a more serious problem.