Treating Your Back Pain

Back pain may be caused by an accidental injury, or just as a result of aging. Elderly persons are prone to back pain. But such a medical condition can also be caused by faulty posture or contorted sitting, standing, and sleeping habits. However, there could occur back pains that are due to a problem in some internal conditions of the body that affect the back or spine.

A person’s ability to stand, sit, and walk and lifting one’s legs despite the existence of pain in the back are some of the ways by which a doctor can assess the severity of back pain. If a medical examiner suspects some other specific condition ae causing the back pain, additional tests may be carried out like electromyography (EMG) or nerve studies, blood tests, bone scan, MRI or CT scan and X-ray.

It may not be necessary to treat back pain by hospital confinement since most home treatments can treat acute back pain in a few weeks’ time using a combination of over the counter painkillers, heat and ice compress, and massage therapy.

A doctor may recommend some medications usually classified under the following functions: non-steroidal over the counter pain relievers, Muscle relaxants, topical pain relievers, injections, antidepressants, and narcotics.

However, the patient can be cautioned on the use of such drugs since muscle relaxants, for instance, can make one dizzy and sleepy. Narcotics during unbearable pain should only be used for a short time under a doctor’s supervision. If the problem is in the nerve roots, a cortisone injection may help decrease inflammation with pain relief that lasts for a few months.

For many cases of back pains, physical therapy (PT) combined with exercise has been used. Different treatments may be applied by a physical therapist like heat, electrical stimulation and muscle release techniques, to reduce pain. Once back pain decreases, the therapist teaches the patient some exercises to increase muscle flexibility. Together with improving one’s posture, these techniques and practices can reduce back pain over time.

As a result of PT success, many have resorted to this type of therapy more than the use of medications. If you have experienced back pain for the first time and are still in your mid-thirties, the likelihood that such pain will be gone in a few days or weeks’ time is high using PT.

However, if you are already of senior citizen age, somewhere between 60 and 70 years old, back pain may be more difficult to part with. The treatment could become more complicated using a combination of medications and physical therapy. Having a back pain at this age exposes the person to greater vulnerability when doing physical movement such as walking. A slip on the floor could lead to a fall and aggravate the back pain condition.

If a back pain occurs, it would be an advantage to treat the pain early by consulting a doctor or a physical therapist. Early treatment response to one’s back pain could save you from expensive treatments later. Avoid procrastination. Make sure you can find out what has caused your back pain. Stay alert to your physical condition at all times.

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