Back Pain

Back pain is one of the most commonly treated pain syndromes in medical practice today. According to recent studies (Fox News Medical Research 2007) more money is spent on treating back pain than on cancer research. Back pain can have many causes from a simple strain from lifting, moving wrong or staying in one position too long, to very serious causes such as tumors and infections of the spinal cord. By far, the most common causes are the first mentioned. Also, the vast majority of back pain will resolve spontaneously with conservative treatment and rarely needs aggressive treatment such as surgery or long term pain medications.

After a thorough history and physical exam, most cases of acute back pain will be treated with simple short term pain pills, muscle relaxants and aspirin type medications. If the pain does not resolve in days, then further more expensive workup is required such as MRI, x-rays and blood work. Physical therapy will be instituted early on as it has been proven to be more effective for long term treatment than any pain medication. Narcotics have never been shown to improve the outcome of back pain and should be avoided after a short trial for comfort during the acute phase.

If the pain persists, then you will be referred to physicians that specialize in specific areas of back treatment according to what your work up reveals. Second line treatments include epidural medications, injections, interventional radiology treatment, and last of all surgery. It is of interest to note that the longer the time interval between the referral to see the back surgeon and the actual appointment, the more likely your pain will resolve without further treatment.

When being treated by the physicians and therapists at Tri City, please understand that the limitation of narcotic pain pills for long term back sufferers is in your best interest as good studies have shown that narcotics have a very limited short term advantage for your condition.