After tweaking your back, lying down for days feels right, but the NHS says the opposite: don’t stay in bed for long periods; stay active and carry on with daily activities. Back pain usually improves within a few weeks, though it can last longer or come back. At home it suggests anti-inflammatory medicine like ibuprofen, an ice pack or heat pack wrapped in a tea towel, and exercises and stretches, and notes that paracetamol on its own is not recommended. If back pain comes with numbness or weakness in both legs or changes in your bladder or bowels, call 999 or go to A&E. This sets out the NHS page “Back pain”.
1. Keep moving rather than lying down. Walking, swimming, yoga and pilates may also help.
2. Anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen; an ice pack (swelling) or heat pack (stiffness), wrapped in a towel. Paracetamol alone isn’t recommended.
3. Both legs numb or weak, numbness around the genitals or anus, bladder or bowel changes, or chest pain: 999 or A&E.
How long and why — NHS
The NHS says back pain usually improves within a few weeks but can sometimes last longer or keep coming back. A common cause is an injury like a pulled muscle; conditions such as a slipped disc, sciatica or ankylosing spondylitis can also cause it. Very rarely, it can be a sign of something serious such as a broken bone, cancer or an infection.
Pain running down the leg is covered in sciatica.
Do and don’t — NHS
| Type | What the NHS says | Worth noting (our gloss) |
|---|---|---|
| Do | Stay active and carry on with daily activities | The page’s first line |
| Do | Anti-inflammatory medicine like ibuprofen | — |
| Note | Paracetamol on its own is not recommended, but may be used with another painkiller | Unlike the headache and toothache pages |
| Do | Check with a pharmacist or GP if unsure which painkiller suits you | — |
| Do | An ice pack (or bag of frozen peas) wrapped in a tea towel — for pain and swelling | Not straight on bare skin |
| Do | A heat pack (or hot water bottle) wrapped in a tea towel — for joint stiffness or muscle spasms | Ice and heat split by purpose |
| Do | Exercises and stretches for back pain · walking, swimming, yoga, pilates | — |
| Don’t | Stay in bed for long periods | — |
Seated moves are in sitting exercises, and post-exercise stretches in stretching after exercise. “Unlike the headache and toothache pages” is our comparison with other NHS pages.
When to get help — NHS
| Where | With back pain and | Worth noting (our gloss) |
|---|---|---|
| GP | No better after a few weeks of home treatment · stopping your daily activities · worried or struggling to cope · unexplained weight loss · a lump or swelling, or a change in shape · no better with rest or worse at night · worse when sneezing, coughing or pooing · coming from between the shoulders rather than the lower back | — |
| Urgent (GP or NHS 111) | Hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell · severe pain that starts suddenly or gets worse quickly | — |
| 999 or A&E | Pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs · loss of feeling around the genitals or anus · bladder or bowel changes, such as difficulty peeing or wetting or soiling yourself · changes in sexual sensation or function · chest pain · started after a serious accident | Don’t drive yourself, the page says |
999 is the UK emergency number and 111 its medical helpline; in Korea, call 119. Where to go is covered in ER vs local clinic.
Checklist
- ☐ Keep moving as much as you can rather than lying down
- ☐ Anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen (paracetamol alone isn’t recommended)
- ☐ Ice for swelling, heat for stiffness — both wrapped in a towel
- ☐ No better after a few weeks or worse at night: GP
- ☐ Numb legs, bladder or bowel changes, chest pain: emergency
Questions that remain
What position should I sleep in?
The NHS back pain page we read doesn’t cover sleeping positions, so we haven’t either.
Ice or heat first?
The NHS doesn’t set an order; it splits them by purpose — ice for pain and swelling, heat for joint stiffness and muscle spasms.
Sources
- NHS — Back pain — source (page shows: reviewed 5 March 2026, next review 5 March 2029; checked 13 October 2026). A few weeks, causes, 7 dos and 1 don’t, paracetamol alone not recommended, 8 GP reasons, 2 urgent signs, 7 emergency signs.
- Not read. The NHS back stretch video page; Korean agency guidance on back pain.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column.
Where else to check
- A pharmacist — the right painkiller for you.
Written on 13 October 2026. The content is from the NHS; the glosses are ours.
