At any given time, more than 30 million Americans experience some level of lower back pain. In fact, low back pain is the single leading cause of disability worldwide. Worse yet, 9 out of 10 patients never truly identify the cause of their lower back pain to begin with. Thus, most people seek non-surgical treatments for their lower back pain to avoid the additional time, resources, and stress associated with back surgeries. Luckily, our team at AOA Orthopedic Specialists has some recommendations and ways to treat your back pain without having to go under the knife.
Rest assured that most low back pain could be greatly controlled through modalities, medications and/or injections. Typical types of modalities include electrical muscle stimulation, ultrasound, heat, ice, and traction. These methods aim to relieve pain, improve circulation, decrease swelling, reduce muscle spasm, and deliver medication in conjunction with other procedures.
Swelling around nerves can often cause a significant amount of physical stress and also further contribute to lower back pain. When it comes to aches and pains, a stocked medicine cabinet and freezer full of frozen peas will only get you so far. Inflammation is the physical reaction of bodily tissues to injury or disease and thus, proper evaluation by a medically-trained professional is important to determine if a larger problem may be occurring.
Ultimately, the best approach can be to work on core strength, while attempting to improve the mobility and flexibility in the spine and in the muscles supporting the spine. As Dr. Todd Daniels of AOA Orthopedic Specialists notes, “The person must dedicate themselves to the exercises for long term success when dealing with lower back pain. Don’t fixate on MRI findings. They do not correlate with pain.”
The good news is, there are plenty of non-surgical approaches that you can take to alleviating lower back pain. Always check with your physician about your specific conditions and if you would like to know more or schedule your own consultation, don’t hesitate to contact us directly.
