Q: What are the most common causes of back painA: Some of the most common causes of back pain include: muscle strain, disc herniation, failed back surgery, shingles, and fractures of the spine.?
Q: These sound serious. Is there a way to prevent back pain?
A: Prevention is very possible in some cases, like in muscle strain, but not in others. To prevent back pain people need to make sure to use proper techniques for lifting, keep a strong core through exercise and use stretching exercises of the lower back and abdominal area. Weight loss is also crucial if you're overweight. Of course fractures are hard to prevent if they're caused by accidents but if they are caused by osteoporosis they can be prevented by having regular check-ups and a bone density scan so that treatment can begin if bone loss is detected before it becomes sever.
Q: What kinds of treatments are available?
A: There are many different treatment options available for low back pain. Some of the most common and less invasive include physical therapy, epidural steroid injections, and trigger point injections. In other cases there are also advanced pain therapies available which include spinal cord stimulation.
Q: If my primary care physician is treating my pain why or when should I see a specialist?
A: Your primary care doctor may be treating your pain with medication. If medication management is not helping or if you have a disc herniation and would like to pursue conservative treatments prior to considering surgery then this would be a good time to ask your physician for a referral to a pain specialist.
Q: Don't most people live with some pain? If that's the case can't I just manage pain with OTC drugs like ibuprofen or acetaminophen?
A: Yes. We all live with some pain to varying degrees but if your pain is to the point of causing an interruption in your daily activities and you find you require more than the daily recommended amount of over the counter medications; then you may want to consider further options for care such as a referral to a specialist. The point you have to remember is that we don't have to live with prolonged sever pain. There are many treatments available that can help.
Q: If someone has surgery for back pain won't this solve it?
A: Surgery is not a guarantee for complete pain resolution. Many times patients do very well after surgery and they will never require further treatments but other times surgery corrects the problem assumed to be causing the pain yet the pain is still present, hence the diagnosis of Failed Back Surgery. A patient should always seek the least invasive procedure and escalate to surgery after other options have been exhausted. If they do, or have had, surgery and are still experiencing pain seeing a pain management physician is a good option as they can offer other treatments which are non invasive, or minimally invasive, as treatment for patients who continue with pain after surgery.
If you'd like more info you can visit www.cipm.com or call our office at (210) 447-6333 to schedule an appointment for an evaluation.
