08 Mar Manage Back Pain With a Back Specialist
Back pain can be a serious impediment. Chronic back pain can reduce your ability to move and perform day-to-day functions. Learning how to manage back pain is important if you want to return to a normal and healthy standard of life!
In this article, we’ll explore some of the many causes of back pain and how you can get a back specialist Chicago to help you find a treatment that works.
Common Causes of Back Pain
These are a few examples of problems that can contribute to back pain. Understanding the cause of your back pain is vitally important for anyone hoping to overcome it.
Back pain tends to emerge naturally as a result of everyday wear and tear on our bones and joints. However, injuries and other factors can all contribute to back pain. Here are a few causes of back pain that a specialist can help you manage.
- Degenerative discs. When your discs start to experience wear and tear they may fall out of place.
- Herniated disc. When this happens the inner material in your spinal discs pushes outwards.
- Compression, inflammation, and other factors can impact the nerves in your spine.
- Spondylolisthesis occurs when one of your vertebrae moves forward and pinch nerves.
There are also other causes of back pain. If you’re concerned don’t hesitate to connect with a back specialist Chicago to figure out the source of your pain.
Treatments for Back Pain
These are some common treatments for back pain.
- Chiropractic care. A chiropractor is skilled in helping to heal musculoskeletal problems. They are especially familiar with treating back pain.
- A discography procedure is a minimally invasive treatment for damaged discs.
- Epidural injections involve the injection of steroids and painkillers directly into the damaged area. This reduces pain and can help to prevent nerve signaling.
- Facet block injections are designed to actually block your nerves from sending pain signals to your brain. This can be incredibly useful for people who have chronic pain and mobility issues.
- Percutaneous discectomy also involves the injection of medicine into the spinal region.
- Physical therapy includes various exercises and treatments to help you restore strength and muscle function in the damaged area. This allows you to increase your range of motion and can reduce pain.
- Medication therapy. Doctors may also prescribe medications to help you manage your pain. Ideally, these medications will not be necessary for the long-term as they can produce side effects and dependence. Typically doctors will not prescribe narcotic medications until you have tried anti-inflammatories, anticonvulsants, or drugs that help to prevent nerve signaling.
Conclusion
There are many conditions and situations that can cause back pain. Fortunately, there are nearly as many treatments. Minimally-invasive procedures like nerve blocks and steroid injections can provide relief without requiring surgery.
If you’re worried about your chronic back pain, help is within reach. Get in contact with a back specialist Chicago to see what sort of options are available to you now.