Methods For Treating Your Chronic Back Pain

Living with back pain is never easy, and the treatment methods that work for one person might not work for you. Chronic pain can be different for different people because it comes from various sources, so you may have to try several treatments to find the one that works for you. 

Physical Examination

One of the most important things that your doctor will do is a physical examination of your back and spine. Often, they can feel or see problems that will help them decide what the next step or test is that they need to consider. The physical may including bending, twisting, standing, and sitting while rating the pain from each activity or position. 

The doctor is not trying to hurt you more; they are trying to determine your range of motion and level of pain for different activities. 

Assess the Cause of Pain

Before treatment for your back pain can begin, the doctor will want to find out what is causing it. The pain may be from an injury or a condition that you have, but since the treatment is different for different causes, it is vital that you have the tests required to determine the cause. 

Standard tests used for back pain are x-rays, MRIs, CAT scans, and nerve studies. Each of these tests will tell the doctor something different, so it is possible the doctor will want you to have more than one of these tests. 

Treatments for Pain

The treatments for back pain can be as varied as the causes of the pain. Medication is often the first option. For sprains and strains of the back, muscle relaxants and pain relievers are commonly used to relieve the pain and allow the muscle to rest and recover. For more severe injuries, the doctor may order physical therapy to go along with the medications and to help strengthen the muscles in your back and around the spine. 

For back pain that is a result of damage to the spine or nerves in the back, the doctor may recommend surgical intervention. The type of surgery depends on a lot on the kind of injury. If your doctor is recommending surgery for your back, sit down and discuss all the positives and negatives because some genuine risks may or may not be worth taking a chance. You have to decide what is right for you, but you need to be able to make an informed decision. 

For more information, contact a back pain management facility.