Inflammatory back pain generally develops gradually, whereas mechanical back pain may follow an injury. Inflammatory pain can alternate from side to side, and may cause awakening during the second half of the night. Morning stiffness is common, and may persist for 45 minutes after arising from bed. Many rheumatologists look for pain that persists for 3 months when diagnosing inflammatory back pain, and couple the diagnosis with serum markers of inflammation.[1][2][3]