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Published on: 7/15/2026

When should I go to the emergency room for back pain?

Yoshinori Abe

Reviewed by Yoshinori Abe, MD

Internal Medicine

Go to the emergency room (ER) for back pain if it is severe and unrelenting, accompanied by numbness, tingling, or weakness in the legs, difficulty walking or standing, or loss of bowel or bladder control. These symptoms may signal a serious condition such as cauda equina syndrome, spinal infection, fracture, or nerve compression that requires immediate medical attention. Back pain following a fall, accident, or trauma, or paired with fever, unexplained weight loss, or a history of cancer, also warrants urgent evaluation.

Not sure if your back pain is an emergency? Because back pain can stem from dozens of causes—ranging from muscle strain to nerve damage—guessing can delay critical care or lead to unnecessary ER visits. A free, instant, online symptom check can help you identify possible conditions, assess urgency, and understand your next steps in minutes. It's a smart, no-cost way to make informed decisions about your health before heading to the ER.

Reviewed for medical accuracy: 07/14/2026

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Important Next Steps

Learn if back pain needs emergency careDiscover likely causes of your back painSee if back pain could be seriousFind OTC options for back pain reliefFind a doctor for back painUnderstand medically valid home remedies for back painCheck if back pain needs urgent care

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Explanation

Back pain can be caused by many things that span benign to life-threatening. Distinguishing between them can be challenging even for the seasoned clinician. Generally, extremely severe debilitating back pain, or pain accompanied by difficulty walking/standing, fevers/chills or loss of bowel/bladder control should prompt a visit to the emergency room. If you're unsure about the severity of your symptoms, you can check your symptoms with our free AI-powered tool to help determine if you have risk factors for more severe causes such as age (<18 or >50), immunocompromise, or underlying conditions such as cardiovascular, kidney, liver or bone disease.

(References)

  • Edwards J, Hayden J, Asbridge M, Gregoire B, Magee K. Prevalence of low back pain in emergency settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2017 Apr 4;18(1):143. doi: 10.1186/s12891-017-1511-7. PMID: 28376873; PMCID: PMC5379602.

  • Knezevic NN, Candido KD, Vlaeyen JWS, Van Zundert J, Cohen SP. Low back pain. Lancet. 2021 Jul 3;398(10294):78-92. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00733-9. Epub 2021 Jun 8. PMID: 34115979.

  • Urits I, Burshtein A, Sharma M, Testa L, Gold PA, Orhurhu V, Viswanath O, Jones MR, Sidransky MA, Spektor B, Kaye AD. Low Back Pain, a Comprehensive Review: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2019 Mar 11;23(3):23. doi: 10.1007/s11916-019-0757-1. PMID: 30854609.

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