Key points from this video
- Go to the emergency department now for new inability to urinate, new loss of bladder or bowel control, new saddle-area numbness, or rapidly worsening leg weakness.
- Fever with back pain or new back pain in someone with a cancer history does not establish one diagnosis, but it lowers the threshold for prompt in-person assessment.
- Leg heaviness brought on by walking can reflect lumbar spinal stenosis, reduced blood flow to the legs, or another cause that a short video cannot distinguish.
- The pattern, speed of change, neurologic examination, and appropriate testing matter more than any one checklist item by itself.
What this video can—and cannot—tell you
This 24-second checklist is a prompt to choose the right level of care, not a diagnostic test. These symptoms can have more than one cause, and urgency depends on what is new, how quickly it is changing, associated symptoms, and an in-person examination. MRI or other testing may be needed to identify the cause.
This is general educational information, not medical advice. Symptoms vary by person — a clinical evaluation is the only way to know what’s right for you.
Exact on-screen video transcript
5 back pain red flags you should never ignore. 1. New bladder or bowel trouble. 2. Numbness in the groin or where you sit. 3. Leg weakness that keeps getting worse. 4. Back pain with a fever, or a cancer history. 5. Leg heaviness only when you walk. 1 to 3 can be emergencies. 4 and 5 need a spine surgeon soon.
