Local Back Doctors Discuss Chronic Back Pain and its Remedies
Sep 06, 2019
Sometimes, we all have a hard time asking for help. When you’re bogged down at work, asking for help might seem like you are unable to handle the pressures of your job. In reality, asking for help and delegating tasks is an efficient way to manage projects and meet deadlines. You may struggle asking your spouse for help when dealing with household chores, thinking, “I’ll just do it myself.” However, letting your partner know that you need some assistance isn’t showing weakness, it’s leaning on the person you love the most.
Suffering from chronic back pain can often be a silent, and painful, issue. Since people can’t “see” your pain, you might try to hide how much your back aches when you’re standing too long or have to bend down to grab an item. Chronic pain conditions can cripple both your body and your sense of independence and well-being. When do you know that it’s time to ask for help with your back pain?
What Can Local Back Doctors Do For Back Pain?
It’s time to begin your research for a “back injury doctor near me” or “dr spine” when you decide that you’re tired of carrying the burden of chronic back pain on your own. First, you might begin searching for “laser spine surgery NJ”, or “physicians spine center Atlanta” depending on your location. However, a spine doctor or spine specialist at laser spine institute locations will likely steer you towards orthopedic surgeons, which are not the only options for back pain and neck pain. Orthopaedic surgeries involve long recovery times, loss of work, and dangerous narcotics during the recovery period.
What do doctors do for back pain that does not involve surgery? The back pain doctors at Pain Treatment Specialists are interventional pain doctors who avoid surgery and addictive narcotics in favor of minimally-invasive techniques and injections. When you begin searching for a “spine specialist near me” or “back doctors near me”, look for back doctors and back specialists who do not offer surgery as their only option. At Pain Treatment Specialists, our board certified and Ivy League-educated pain management doctors offer the following treatments for chronic back pain:
- Physical Therapy: Once your pain doctor has diagnosed your specific back pain issue, a physical therapist can work to build strength in weak areas through tailored exercises and therapies. A variety of physical therapy treatment options can be used to target your back pain, including strength training and pain treatment training to build muscles and increase flexibility in affected areas. Our interventional pain doctors work with physical therapists to create treatment options that are crafted just for you.
- Lumbar Radiofrequency Ablation: This treatment involves electromagnetic waves that travel at the speed of light. These waves, which are a form of heat energy, are delivered precisely to the nerve endings that radiate pain. For patients who have not experienced success with nerve blocks or injections, lumbar radiofrequency ablation provides a longer-lasting option of increased mobility and pain reduction.
- Lumbar Facet Injection: This treatment inject a small amount of local anesthetic or numbing medicine into small joints around the vertebrae. This numbs the facet joints, blocks pain, and provides relief from chronic lower back pain.
Local Back Doctors Share Common Causes of Chronic Back Pain
Your local back doctors, such as the team at Pain Treatment Specialists, know that chronic back pain is one of the most common pain complaints among adults. If you choose to meet first with your primary care physician, their medical advice diagnosis will be based around their knowledge of the musculoskeletal system. However, when you seek a “back specialist near me”, like the interventional pain doctors at Pain Treatment Specialists, they will have the knowledge and training necessary to dig deeper into your chronic pain concerns. Common causes of chronic back pain include:
- Degenerative Disc Disease: This age-related condition is when normal wear-and-tear on a spinal disc causes lower back pain. With use and age, our discs naturally stiffen, so this is a natural progression that everyone will eventually face. Degenerative disc disease can also lead to complications such as herniated discs and ruptured discs, which cause chronic back pain.
- Spinal Stenosis: Spinal stenosis refers to the constriction or narrowing of spaces within your spine, which adds pressure on spinal nerves. Also due to age and wear-and-tear, spinal stenosis is related to degenerative disc disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis.
- Herniated Discs: Herniated discs can happen anywhere along the spine, but occur most often in the neck or lower back. Also known as bulging or ruptured discs, herniated discs are the most common cause of sciatica and lower back pain.
Don’t limit your search for a spine center to just a “spine surgeon” or a “spine doctor near me.” Continue your research until you find minimally-invasive options that do not involve surgery, which is not the only option to treat chronic back pain.
Asking for help is hard, but once you’ve made the decision that you want to be pain free, taking the first step towards regaining your life back is tremendously empowering. Contact the board certified and Ivy League-educated team at Pain Treatment Specialists to see the massive difference that one phone call makes.