Treating Back Pain
February 4th, 2012 by admin | No Comments | Filed in UncategorizedMost doctors who help patients in treating back pain, also actively work with physical therapists. They are skilled in helping patients recover from back pain and get them back to performing everyday physical activities. Physical therapists often spend time teaching their patients exercises which help them improve and maintain the condition of their spines. By using physical therapy, one learns postures and positions which help lessen the amount of pain one feels in the back. There is no universal approach that works for everyone. The physical therapist designs an exercise program which is tailored to one?s individual needs.
Some exercises focus on strengthening the muscles that assist in arching the spine and back. Patients who complain of back pain due to ligament tears, or have problems with their discs, can have the pressure reduced by arching their backs. Patients are also advised to perform other techniques such as lying prone, in which they are supposed to lay on their stomachs with arms on their sides for about ten to fifteen minutes. A variation of this technique may be lying prone on pillows in order to support the back. The physical therapist may also want the patient to perform press ups, standing extensions, and various other exercises.
To perform a standing extension, the hands are placed on the smaller part of the back while standing. Leaning backwards, this position is held for twenty seconds before repeating the exercise. To perform a prone press up, one has to lie down on the stomach and place the palms near their shoulders. Then shoulders are slowly pushed up, keeping the hips down. The body is lowered down slowly, and the exercise is repeated over 8to10 times.
Apart from these, there are also a number of surgical and non-surgical methods to treat back pain. Some common forms of surgical methods are mentioned below. Artificial disc replacement is a relatively new form of surgery in the U.S. but has been in use in Europe for decades now and is primarily used to treat lower back pain from a degenerated disc. Discectomy/microdiscectomy is usually used to treat pain that radiates down the arm or leg from lumbar disc herniations. Kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty are minimally invasive procedures designed to treat pain from osteoporotic compression fractures. Then there is spinal cord stimulation, in which an electrical device is used to interrupt the pain signals being sent to the brain. Spinal fusion is used to treat chronic pain caused due to degenerative disc disease and spondylolisthesis is the method to treat scoliosis.
The other non-surgical methods of treatment include applying an ice pack after certain exerting activities or following an injury, or application of a heating pad to relax the muscles. Steroid injections or facet joint injections are also fairly common. Medications such as muscle relaxants, narcotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or paracetamol are used worldwide by people of all age groups.
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