Is back pain psychological?

If you’ve lived with persistent back pain, you’ve probably encountered two very different explanations.

One suggests your pain is entirely physical and the result of damaged discs, arthritis or spinal degeneration. The other implies that because doctors cannot find a clear structural cause, your pain must be psychological.

Back pain isn’t simply a physical problem, nor is it merely a psychological one. Instead, it’s increasingly recognized as a condition involving the continuous interaction between your body, brain and nervous system. Physical tissues, emotions, thoughts, stress, sleep, previous experiences and lifestyle all influence how pain is experienced.