There are many possible causes of back pain – including a muscle strain, a herniated disc in the spine, or even arthritis. A sports medicine doctor can determine what is causing your back pain and can recommend or prescribe treatment to relieve the pain and restore your flexibility.
Most cases of back pain respond to conservative, nonsurgical treatment. However, doctors may also recommend surgical methods, depending on your specific condition and/or your response to other treatments.
What Can Be Done for My Back Pain?
If you are suffering from back pain, your doctor may recommend one or more of the following treatments:
Medication
Over-the-counter pain relievers, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), are often first recommended to ease mild back pain. It is always best to take the lowest-strength medicine possible.
If over-the-counter medicine doesn’t work to relieve your back pain, your doctor may prescribe a stronger medication to be used temporarily. One type of medication the doctor may recommend is a muscle relaxant. Tight back muscles are a common cause of pain, and muscle relaxants can help loosen them up and ease the tension in your back.
Physical Therapy
A comprehensive program for treating back pain often includes physical therapy. This rehabilitation system helps to strengthen the back’s muscles, increase flexibility, boost circulation, and ease the pain.
Your physical therapist will guide you in exercises and stretches that target your back problem. If you continue to perform the recommended exercises and stretches every day on your own, your back pain should drastically lessen or dissipate entirely.
A very common cause of back pain is poor posture when sitting or walking. Your physical therapist can observe how you move and correct any faulty movements that may be contributing to your back pain.
Pain-Relief Injection Therapy
A very popular type of minimally invasive back pain treatment is to have a pain-relief injection, which usually contains corticosteroids. These steroid injections can provide immediate relief from your back pain, and the relief usually lasts for weeks or months thanks to the steroid’s anti-inflammation capabilities and its staying power.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is taken from traditional Chinese medicine, which utilizes hair-thin needles that are inserted into the skin at certain points throughout the body. The traditional belief is that doing so triggers a rebalancing of the body’s “energy flows.”
The Western counterpart is dry needling, whereby hair-thin needles are inserted into the skin in order to stimulate the nerves and muscles. Dry needling is usually effective in treating back pain that is caused by tight or knotted muscles because the action of the needle works to loosen up the muscle just enough to provide relief.
Back Pain Treatment Near You
Here at Reagan Integrated Sports Medicine, our team knows how to help you mitigate or completely obliterate your back pain for good. We incorporate an individualized and comprehensive approach that tackles your pain at its source for optimum effectiveness.
Contact us today to find out how our medical team can help you. We look forward to seeing you!
