Did you know that back pain is the most common type of pain that affects people in the United States? The causes of chronic back pain varies from person to person—it can be age-related, caused by structural issues or result from a prior accident or injury. Finding options that provides long-term back pain relief can be very frustrating—especially when the cause is unknown.
Our physicians can help to properly diagnose your back pain and give you the best available treatment options.
Don’t let the fear of needing surgery stop you from visiting our physicians. Depending on your condition, there are many treatments besides surgery that can help with your chronic pain. Read on to learn about the various non-surgical options for back pain relief.
Lifestyle Adjustments
Keeping a healthy weight and incorporating positive lifestyle choices is important to your overall well-being and severity of chronic pain. Maintaining an exercise routine, stretching, practicing good posture, eating right and not smoking are all best practices to follow to keep your bones and muscles strong and to keep back pain at bay.
Physical Therapy
Under the guidance of your pain doctor, one of the first treatment options for back pain tends to be physical therapy. The overall goal of physical therapy is to decrease pain, increase physical function and provide education on maintaining a program to prevent further issues.
Below is an example of common active physical therapy programs:
Stretching
Strength training
Low-impact aerobics
Customized pain relief exercises
Pain Medication
Pain medication is not typically the first course of action to relieve back pain. If pain is severe and unresponsive to other treatments, the following pain medication may be prescribed for short-term or long-term relief:
Over the counter pain relievers
Muscle relaxants
Topical pain relievers
Prescription opioids
Nerve Blocks & Epidural Injections
When the source of chronic back pain is known, nerve block or epidural injections may be recommended. These minimally invasive injections can stop or drastically decrease pain for a certain period of time. Depending on your condition, you may only require one injection or a series of injections to achieve the desired results. Read more under services
Best Back Doctor Utah
Few patients require surgery for back pain, but if you are dealing with structural back issues such as bulging disc that have not responded to alternative treatments, surgery may be your best option. It’s important to talk with our physicians and review your options for the best course of action.
don’t wait, call today at 801-262-7246
Disclaimer: You should always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health care provider before beginning any exercise program. The information contained in this article does not constitute medical advice, nor does reading or accessing this information create a patient-provider relationship. Comments that you post will be shared with all visitors to this page. All comments are not governed by HIPAA and you should not post any private health information.