SYMPTOM
Back pain or sensitivity
Flinching, tensing, or vocalising when the back is touched, or reluctance to bend and twist normally.
Musculoskeletal
Muscular strain, spasm, or injury to the soft tissues supporting the spine can produce localised or diffuse back pain. This may result from vigorous activity, awkward movements, or repetitive strain. The paraspinal muscles that run alongside the vertebral column are particularly susceptible to tension and spasm, which can create significant discomfort and a reluctance to flex or extend the spine normally.
Intervertebral disc disease
Degeneration, protrusion, or extrusion of the intervertebral discs can cause back pain ranging from mild discomfort to severe distress. The pain may be localised over the affected disc space and can be accompanied by neurological signs if the disc material impinges on the spinal cord or nerve roots. Chondrodystrophic breeds such as Dachshunds and French Bulldogs are predisposed to disc extrusion, which can occur from as young as one to two years of age, often with sudden and severe signs.
Degenerative spinal conditions
Facet joint arthritis and other age-related degenerative changes in the spine can produce chronic back pain or sensitivity. These conditions develop gradually. Spondylosis deformans, the bony spurs and bridges that form between vertebrae with age, is typically an incidental finding on X-rays. Its presence does not correlate with clinical signs, so extensive changes on imaging do not by themselves explain back pain.
Inflammatory or infectious
Discospondylitis (infection of the disc and adjacent vertebrae), meningitis, or other inflammatory conditions affecting the spine or its membranes can cause marked back pain. Fever is often present with steroid-responsive meningitis-arteritis. In discospondylitis, spinal pain is the most consistent finding and systemic signs such as fever, dullness, or weight loss are less common, so a normal temperature does not rule out spinal infection. Spinal infections are usually bacterial, less commonly fungal, and can follow migrating plant awns.
Neoplastic
Tumours affecting the vertebrae, spinal cord, nerve roots, or surrounding tissues can cause back pain that is often progressive and may be accompanied by neurological changes. The pain may initially be intermittent but tends to become more constant as the process advances. Primary spinal tumours and metastatic disease from other sites can both present with spinal sensitivity.
Referred pain
Pain originating from abdominal or thoracic organs can sometimes manifest as apparent back sensitivity. Conditions affecting the kidneys, pancreas, or other structures close to the spine may cause the animal to react when the overlying back area is touched or palpated. This referred pain pattern can make localisation of the true source challenging without further investigation.
Why timing matters
Early observation
When back pain or sensitivity is first noticed, it may reflect a range of causes from minor muscular strain to the early stages of a spinal or systemic condition. Dogs may initially show subtle signs such as flinching when stroked along the back, a brief reluctance to twist or turn, or mild stiffness that resolves quickly with movement. Cats may react to touch along the spine with skin twitching, vocalisation, or moving away. At this stage, the sensitivity may appear intermittent and context-dependent, sometimes noticeable only after rest or particular activities.
Later presentation
Back pain that persists or becomes more pronounced over time may suggest an ongoing structural or inflammatory process within the spine or surrounding tissues. The animal may begin to modify its behaviour more consistently: avoiding certain movements, becoming reluctant to jump or climb, or showing a more rigid posture during walking. Persistent sensitivity to touch along the spine, particularly if it worsens or expands to cover a larger area, may indicate progression of the underlying cause. Secondary changes such as muscle tension, reduced activity levels, or altered temperament may develop as the animal adapts to chronic discomfort.
Back pain can follow several trajectories. Some presentations are acute and self-limiting, resolving within days as a minor strain heals. Others may develop a chronic, fluctuating pattern where periods of apparent comfort alternate with episodes of increased sensitivity, a pattern sometimes seen with degenerative spinal conditions. Progressive back pain that steadily worsens over weeks to months may suggest an evolving structural problem. Hindlimb weakness or coordination difficulties do not always follow that slow course: with a disc extrusion they can follow the first pain in under an hour. The relationship between activity levels, weather, rest, and pain intensity can vary considerably between individuals.
Conditions commonly associated
Intervertebral Disc Disease in Dogs
Intervertebral disc disease produces back pain when herniated disc material presses on the spinal cord and surrounding nerve roots, irritating pain-sensitive tissue along the spine and making the back tender to touch or movement.
The page on this condition is being checked again and is offline for now.
Spondylosis in Dogs
Spondylosis is common in older dogs and is usually an incidental finding on X-rays that does not correlate with clinical signs, so it is often present in a dog with back pain without being the cause.
Steroid-Responsive Meningitis-Arteritis (SRMA)
Neck and back pain is a hallmark of SRMA due to inflammation of the meninges surrounding the spinal cord.
Syringomyelia (CM/SM)
Neck and back pain in CM/SM results from syrinx formation within the spinal cord and abnormal CSF pressure dynamics.
Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD)
Spinal pain is often the earliest sign, causing reluctance to move and vocalisation when handled.
Syringomyelia
Neck and spinal sensitivity often occur due to syrinx formation within the spinal cord.
Cauda Equina Syndrome
Compression of the nerve roots at the base of the spine makes the lower back and tail base tender to touch.
Discospondylitis
Infection of the intervertebral disc and adjacent vertebrae makes the spine painful to touch or when the back is arched.
Lumbosacral Stenosis
Compression of nerve roots where the spinal canal narrows at the lower back can make this area tender or painful to touch.
Sacroiliac Disease in Dogs
Instability or inflammation of the joint linking the spine to the pelvis often causes tenderness over the lower back and hips.
Brucellosis in Dogs
The bacterium mainly targets reproductive tissue, but it is also a recognised cause of discospondylitis, and the resulting spinal infection produces back pain and reluctance to be handled along the spine.
Pyelonephritis
Infection and swelling within the kidney capsule are felt as pain over the flank or lower back, sometimes making pets flinch when the area is touched.
Aortic Thromboembolism in Cats
This is not a spinal condition, but a clot lodging at the end of the aorta causes sudden severe pain with crying out and weak or paralysed, cold hind legs in cats, a picture that overlaps with sudden back pain and hindlimb weakness. Most affected cats have underlying heart disease.
The page on this condition is being checked again and is offline for now.
When to explore further
Mild back sensitivity with normal walking and normal bladder control that persists for more than a few days, or that recurs in a recognisable pattern, may benefit from further exploration to understand whether a structural, inflammatory, or other process is involved.
Back pain with wobbly or scuffing hind legs, hindlimb weakness, difficulty rising, dragging of the legs, or loss of bladder control points to compression of the spinal cord or nerve roots rather than muscular discomfort. With a disc extrusion in dogs these signs can worsen from pain alone to paralysis, in some dogs in under an hour. Outcome follows how far the signs have gone. In the studies pooled for the 2022 ACVIM consensus statement, about 93% of dogs with paralysed hind legs that could still feel a firm toe pinch recovered walking after surgery, against about 61% of dogs that had lost that sensation, and about 21% of such dogs managed without surgery. Whether deep pain sensation is still present cannot be judged at home, because a leg pulling away from a pinch is a reflex and does not show that the pinch is felt.
A sudden onset of severe back pain, particularly if the animal cries out during normal movements, stands hunched and rigid, or is reluctant to move, is a different presentation from gradual-onset stiffness. It is the pattern seen with disc extrusion, where pain can be the first stage before weakness of the hind legs appears.
Back sensitivity that is progressively worsening, affecting a widening area of the spine, or becoming associated with temperament changes such as increased irritability or withdrawal, may indicate an advancing process.
In breeds known to be predisposed to spinal conditions, such as Dachshunds, French Bulldogs, German Shepherds, or Dobermanns, back pain may carry additional significance and context that could inform the assessment approach.
Observing which areas of the back appear most sensitive, whether the pain is present consistently or varies with activity and rest, and whether there are any associated changes in movement, posture, or willingness to engage in normal activities can help build a picture of the pattern over time. Noting whether the sensitivity is localised to a specific spinal region or more widespread may also provide useful context for understanding the underlying cause.
Last reviewed: 9 October 2026 · Dr Alastair Greenway MRCVS