Does back labor have defined beginning and end of contractions like you hear with normal contractions?

If you're having back labor do you still get the textbook uterus tightening that you feel in the front?

I will be 35 weeks on Sunday and for the past four or five days I've had some random period style cramps in my back which is what I'm used to when I have my period but last night while I was asleep I woke up to this awful pain on one side of my back. It didn't come and go like you would think a contraction would so I just kind of assumed it was a muscle thing and I got up and walked it out for a little while and then put some light heat on it and it went away. It just got me thinking that I dont know anything about back labor to know what to look for. All of my friends who have kids were induced and so they aren't much help with looking for the early signs of labor. Lol

Share your story and what labor felt like for you, or how labor manifested itself early on!