A Pain in the Back
At some point, everyone experiences back pain. According to Kirnot Singh, MD, back pain can result from simple daily activities like lifting and bending, to traumatic injuries like falls or automobile accidents. What can be done?
For starters, Singh recommends:
• Rest. Resume activities carefully and properly.
• Local “modalities.” Heat, or ice, and over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs can ease the pain and let the back heal.
• See a doctor. If pain is uncontrollable, lasts more than two to three days, or causes pain, numbness or weakness in the extremities, it is time to turn to a professional.
Most back pain will resolve itself with minor intervention. Chronic pain can be trickier. After imaging tests to get to the root of the cause, doctors use quite an arsenal of therapies to help patients. Among these:
• Modifying activities. Proper lifting—and limiting high-risk, high-impact practices—ease aggravation.
• Weight loss. Extra weight means extra stress and strain on the spine.
• Physical therapy. Exercises strengthen the “core,” offering back support.
• Massage, chiropractic manipulation, acupuncture. These methods work to relax muscles and align the skeleton. Magnets, braces and inversion tables can help, too.
• Corticosteroid and lidocaine injections. These reduce inflammation and block pain.
• Cutting-edge procedures. Endoscopic surgery allows doctors to repair discs and address other issues through half-inch incisions, reducing healing time.
• Open back surgery. In extreme cases, vertebrae can be fused, or rods can be put in place to stabilize the skeleton.
