What do Doctors do for Back Pain? According to Medical Center
Sep 06, 2019
What do Doctors do for Back Pain?
Lower back pain is the primary cause of disabilities across the world, according to the Global Burden of Disease. Over 50% of all Americans suffer from back pain every year and over 80% of all Americans say that they’ve suffered from back pain at least once.
Lower back pain and tenderness can be either acute or chronic, i.e., it may be a sudden pain that goes away soon or it may get progressively worse. If you’re suffering from chronic back pain, you need to seek back pain treatment immediately or it could get a lot worse and lead to other terrible complications.
You can generally identify back pain with symptoms like muscle aches, shooting pains through your back or legs, excessive pain while walking or standing, tingling in your legs, or even bladder issues. Lower back pain can be caused by several issues like a lumbar herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, sacroiliac joint pain, spinal stenosis, osteoarthritis, and other such issues.
The only way to truly treat back pain and get lower back pain relief is by visiting a reputable back pain doctor. You should avoid doctors who recommend drugs or opioids because they can be addictive and they don’t address the root cause of the back pain. You should also avoid back pain doctors who solely rely on surges because they have a high risk of complications and minimally-invasive options are available.
You should, instead, look for a back pain management specialist that uses minimally-invasive and non-surgical treatments. You may be wondering what do doctors for back pain or “how to find a back injury doctor near me”. In this article, we discuss what an interventional pain specialist does for lower back pain and tenderness.
Lower Back Pain Diagnosis
When you consult a back pain doctor, they’ll first run some physical examinations to understand where the lower back pain is originating from. The physical test also helps the back pain doctor figure out if the pain is affecting your range of motion. The back pain doctor may also check your reflexes to determine if there’s an issue in your nerves.
The back pain doctor will also ask you if you have certain symptoms that denote an emergency such as loss of bowel control, fever, or weight loss. These are all serious symptoms of lower back pain for which you’ll have to be admitted into an emergency room for immediate evaluation. If you experience any of these symptoms, you should go to a back pain doctor immediately.
The back pain doctor will also have to run some imaging tests to determine the exact root cause of back pain, be it a herniated disc, issues in your tendons and ligaments, bone problems, or any other. The back pain doctor will start with a simple X-Ray exam to check the alignment of your bones and determine if you have arthritis. Next, the back pain doctor may recommend an MRI or CT scan to generate an image of your discs, bones, muscles, tissues, tendons, ligaments and other parts of your body to accurately locate the back pain causes. This will allow the doctor to curate a back pain treatment that’s specifically suited for your needs.
Lower Back Pain Treatment
There are various minimally invasive and non-surgical procedures that can provide lower back pain treatment. These procedures cause minimal pain or discomfort and they carry a negligible risk of side effects. The following is a brief overview of some of the best lower back pain treatments available.
Epidural Steroid Injections
An Epidural Steroid Injection is a minimally invasive and non-surgical procedure that’s used to treat lower back pain caused by inflamed spinal nerves or a herniated disc. During this procedure, medicine is injected into the epidural space, which is a fat-filled spot around the protective sac of the spinal nerves. The whole procedure only takes 15 to 20 minutes and it provides instant relief. You may also have to return for additional sessions after a few weeks.
Facet Joint Nerve Blocks
Facet Joint Nerve Blocks, also known as Lumbar Facet Injections, is a procedure in which local anesthesia is injected into the nerves of the small joints on either side of the spinal cord. This procedure is suitable for those who are suffering from arthritis and it’s often used in addition to physical therapy. This procedure is also diagnostic, which means it can help the doctor better understand the root cause of your lower back pain.
Lumbar Radiofrequency Ablation
Lumbar radiofrequency ablation is a procedure in which heat is applied using alternating current technology. The heat is generated from a special machine that operates at high frequencies and it’s delivered to nerve area endings that generate the pain signals. This procedure selectively removes the nerves that convey the pain impulses and it can eliminate pain for around one year. This procedure is often recommended if you’ve already gone through steroid injections and facet joint nerve blocks and it’s meant for long-term relief from back pain.
Schedule your Lower Back Pain Treatment
At Pain Treatment Specialists, we have some of the best back pain doctors who can accurately diagnose the root cause of your lower back pain and treat it permanently using minimally invasive lower back pain treatments. For more information, please schedule your lower back pain treatment today.
Meet our
Board Certified Team
Director of Pain Management | Double Board Certified
Pain Management
Anesthesiology
Harvard Medical School
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
Dr. George Hanna is a nationally recognized pain management specialist and double Board Certified in anesthesiology and pain management medicine.
Dr. Hanna is currently available at Pain Treatment Specialists in Manhattan and Clifton, NJ.
TRIPLE Board CERTIFIED | NEW YORK & NEW JERSEY pain specialist
Pain Management
Venous Medicine
Aesthetics
Harvard Medical School
Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Dr. Michael Nguyen is world renowned in Pain Medicine. Dr. Michael completed his residency and advanced Pain fellowship training at Harvard Medical School. During his tenure at Harvard, Dr. Michael was awarded the “Mentor of the Year” and also “Teacher of the Year” award. After graduating, Dr. Michael taught for two years at Harvard – training new graduates on the latest modern advances in interventional pain management for multiple pain ailments.
Meet our Board Certified team
George
Hanna MD
Director of Pain Management
Harvard Medical School
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Michael
Nguyen MD
Harvard Medical SChool
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