Cheers for that, the physio I go to actively wants me to go to a specialist in the area and get a scan / x ray or whatever to make sure there's nothing untoward happening in there.
He/she obviously knows your case better than we do, but resolving
acute back pain in a chap of your age, with nothing worrying in the story of your symptoms, probably wouldn't warrant further investigations at this present time.
Lumbar x-rays tell us little, use a high dose of radiation, and usually do not affect the management of the patient.
MRI/CT scan is the investigation of choice, although at this stage, probably not warranted.
The long term outcomes are a little unpredictable, but the odds are, in a young chap such as yourself, you will go on to make a complete recovery.
You need to be thinking of caring for your back in the long term, physio's tend to have the expertise in this area.
Keep in shape, work on the tummy muscles, avoid abusing your back, (we all do it!), have a look at your firms "lifting and handling" policy- not very exciting I'm afraid, but essential reading for you now.
Management of
chronic (>6weeks) back pain is slightly different.