What to do when you experience acute back pain? It is most important to stay calm, take pain medication if necessary and keep doing your every day activities. Usually the pain will gradually subside in days or weeks.Fear to move promotes pain to become chronic.

To relieve your back pain, there is a lot you can do yourself. Pain can be frightening, and it's natural to fear it, but avoiding movement, being fearful, and staying in bed tends to encourage the pain to persist. In the case of typical non-specific lower back pain, movement does not harm your back. The pain will subside more effectively when you stay active and continue with your normal daily activities as much as possible, despite the pain. Painkillers can also help you recover more quickly. Limit (but don’t completely avoid) activities that increase your pain, while gradually doing more of other activities. Normal daily activities include going to work, doing household chores, and leisure activities. Continuing with your normal life as much as possible diverts your attention from the pain, and your back doesn’t become stiff and weak. If it’s really necessary to take sick leave, it should be short-term and with the goal of returning to work quickly, even if only part-time. As the pain subsides, you can start trying more active exercises that are beneficial for your back. In more complex cases, rehabilitation is needed.

In case of acute pain, you should not hesitate to take painkillers. If the pain is severe, medications should initially be taken regularly—this means several times a day at fixed intervals. Reducing pain helps maintain an active daily life, and this way, back pain subsides more quickly.