Most cases of back pain improve within several weeks of home care and exercise. However, low back pain is a complex medical condition, and different people experience it differently. Some people are in mild pain for a few weeks, and others experience severe persistent pain for months. Heat application and OTC painkillers are often enough to bring relief, but what happens when your back pain Newtown just won’t go away? Here is a look at the available low back pain treatments.
1. Physical Therapy
Chronic back pain treatment is founded on exercise. Most physicians will recommend that you enter a physical therapy program guided by a spine physical therapist for several weeks before attempting other forms of treatment. Usually, your doctor will tailor several exercises to your symptoms and medical history for the best results. Common forms of back pain physical therapy include:
· Posture retraining
· Flexibility and stretching exercises
· Core strengthening exercises
· Aerobics
· Testing pain tolerance limits
2. Injections
Injection-based treatments for low back pain include nerve ablations, nerve blocks, and epidural steroid injections. They are used to address severe back pain but only when the exact cause of the problem is known. While very effective, injection-based treatments are not a long-term solution. They lessen or eliminate your pain for some time but then wear off.
If your low back pain radiates down your legs, your doctor may recommend cortisone injections. Cortisone is a strong anti-inflammatory that is usually accompanied by a numbing agent and delivered to your spinal cord. It combats inflammation around the nerve roots and remains effective for about a month or two, as is the case with most injection treatments.
3. Lifestyle Changes
Making certain lifestyle changes can also go a long way in relieving your low back pain. Your doctor will usually ask you questions about your lifestyle and activities and recommend changes to improve your condition. For example, you may be advised to exercise more, walk to work instead of driving, stop smoking, and avoid lifting heavy objects. All these changes are designed to improve your mobility and body’s ability to fight pain.
4. Medications
Medications such as muscle relaxants, analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and other prescribed medications can be used to relieve your chronic back pain problems. Depending on the severity of your symptoms, your physician may prescribe the following medications:
· Narcotics
· Topical pain relievers
· Muscle relaxants
· Antidepressants
· Over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers
5. Radiofrequency Neurotomy
Radiofrequency neurotomy is performed by a specially trained physician who inserts a fine needle through the skin around the area you feel the most pain. They then pass radio waves through the needle to damage the surrounding nerves and block the delivery of pain signals to your brain.
6. Implanted Nerve Stimulators
Nerve stimulators are medical devices that can be implanted under your skin and programmed to deliver electrical impulses to specific nerves. The goal is to interfere with pain signals.
Talk to a Low Back Pain Specialist Today
As you can see, there is no shortage of ways to address low back pain. At Performance Pain and Sports Medicine, we offer a wide range of back pain treatments, including regenerative medicine, physical therapy, and minimally invasive procedures. You can learn more by calling our Newtown office or setting up an appointment online.