Something as simple as taking a walk seems like a pretty mundane activity, but is easily the most exciting part of your dog’s day. Just grabbing a leash activates a flurry of tail wagging, since your dog thinks they’re getting a very special reward for being such a good boy. Halfway around the block, your dog catches wind of their mortal enemy– the dreaded squirrel. Launching full speed ahead, you’re not quite ready for this sudden burst of motion. Your body lurches forward, and your lower back muscles freeze. Thankfully your dog loses interest quickly, but your back is not as fast to recover.
How do you know if your back injury is serious? The only way to properly diagnose back pain is meeting with a back pain expert. If you feel lower back pain radiating to your abdomen or lower right back pain that radiates to the abdomen, you may want to head to an urgent care center immediately to rule out any serious medical issues. However, if you’ve had lower back pain for 4 weeks, sore lower back muscles, or want to see a doctor for waist pain, book an appointment at Pain Treatment Specialists, where our Harvard trained team of pain doctors can properly diagnose and treat your back pain.
What Are The Best Treatments for Lower Back Pain and Upper Back Pain?
Your dog is pretty disappointed that his walk had to end so soon, but your lower back pain and lower back muscles couldn’t go any further. While your dog dreams of finally catching that squirrel on the couch beside you, you research what kinds of back pain treatments are offered at Pain Treatment Specialists. You don’t want to rely on muscle relaxants or lower back arthritis pain medication, so finding a minimally invasive back pain treatment is ideal. Looking online, you see that the pain doctors at Pain Treatment Specialists are experts in pain medicine, and do not rely on back surgery or addictive narcotics when treating chronic lower back pain or upper back pain. Some of their treatments for back pain include:
- Physical Therapy: If you suffer from lower left back pain or sore lumbar back muscles, then physical therapy is an effective treatment to prevent back pain and also treat your current back pain. Your pain doctor works with a physical therapist to create a customized treatment plan that works with your specific back pain concerns. The goal of physical therapy is to build strength in your back muscles to prevent back pain in the future, while also improving current flexibility and mobility.
- Lumbar Facet Injection: Degenerative disc disease occurs as we age, and is effectively treated through a lumbar facet injection. This minimally invasive procedure uses a local anesthetic or steroid medication that blocks pain radiating from the facet joints. If multiple joints are affected, then multiple injections are performed. Your facet joints are small joints at the end of each segment of your spine, and may become painful over time due to aging or degenerative disc disease.
Physical therapy and lumbar facet injections are just two of the many back pain treatments available at Pain Treatment Specialists. Schedule an appointment today to meet with a member of our Harvard trained team and discuss which options work best for you.
How Can I Prevent Back Pain?
In scenarios such as “The Unsolved Case of the Missing Squirrel”, preventing back pain is very difficult. An accident, unusual motion, or awkward turn can be enough to initiate your acute low back pain. However, there are ways to prevent back pain and give your back muscles some extra support and care. The back pain experts at Pain Treatment Specialists recommend the following tips for preventing lower back pain:
- Exercise is Important: Keeping yourself active reduces the risk factors associated with chronic back pain.When you get regular exercise, not only is it good for your overall health, it also helps keep your back fluid and flexible.
- Stop Smoking: We all know that smoking is bad for your health, but did you also know that it’s bad for your back? Smoking restricts blood to your spinal discs, which leaves you susceptible to back pain.
- Change Your Sleeping Position: If you sleep on your stomach, this can put your spine in an awkward position for a long period of time. Try sleeping on your side with your knees tucked, which puts less stress on your back. If you enjoy sleeping on your back, placing a pillow under your knees and a pillow under your lower back also puts your spine in an ideal position.
- Be Mindful of Your Weight: Your back and spinal column support your entire body and it’s stability, so a few extra pounds puts additional stress on your back.
When you schedule an appointment at Pain Treatment Specialists, our pain doctors create a customized back pain treatment plan that works specifically for you.
What’s the Best Way to Describe My Back Pain Symptoms?
When you first meet with your pain doctor at Pain Treatment Specialists, your pain specialist will ask a series of questions such as, “Are you suffering from lower abdominal cramps and lower back pain?” in order to properly diagnose your back pain. If you’ve been suffering from back pain for a while, then you may find it difficult to find the proper way to describe your back pain symptoms. This is because living with chronic pain means that you find ways to ignore the pain and push it into the background. Our expert pain doctors recommend the following methods to help describe your back pain symptoms:
- Keep a Record of Your Pain: Before your visit, record what types of motions or activities cause back pain, and which do not. For example, you might find that you feel fine in the morning, but after sitting at your desk all day your lower back aches.
- Use a Number Scale for Pain: This is also a great idea to correspond with your written pain record. Use a number scale of 1-10 to describe your back pain, with 1 being minimal and 10 being excruciating. In the above example, your back pain is a 1 in the morning, and a 6 after working at your desk.
- Specific Words Matter: Articulate your pain with specific words. Does your lower back throb with pain like a heartbeat, or feel frozen when you try to move? Is your upper back stiff or do you feel a shooting pain with different movements? These specific descriptions help your pain doctor with their diagnosis and treatment.
Book an appointment today at Pain Treatment Specialists, with convenient locations in midtown Manhattan and northern New Jersey. Not only will your back thank you for getting rid of its pain, your best four-legged friend will be thrilled to get back to his mischievous squirrel-chasing adventures.
Recent Comments