If you suffer from chronic back pain, you are by no means alone. According to the NIH, 8.2 percent of Americans suffer from severe chronic back pain. In this blog, we will investigate the multiple causes of this problem and how modern medicine can now address it with a number of nonsurgical means. At Long Island Spine Rehabilitation Medicine, where our doctors focus on relieving pain and restoring function, one of our primary goals is alleviating chronic back pain. Contact us now to find out more about how our effective holistic approach can improve your quality of life.
Some people are born with congenital conditions that cause chronic back pain; others develop diseases or suffer injuries that cause it, and some must cope with chronic back pain that results from overuse or simple wear and tear. Fortunately, most of them can find relief in some combination of the wide range of therapies our practice offers.
Root Causes of Chronic Back Pain
The Strain of Everyday Activities
Some patients develop back pain over time as a result of their occupations, chores or hobbies. Whether you spend a great deal of time cleaning, gardening, hiking or sitting behind a desk, you may develop repetitive motion or overuse injuries from being in one position for too long, over-
straining your muscles, or using incorrect posture as you engage in these activities. Bending, twisting, lifting or sitting can all contribute to weakening back muscles and increasing pressure on your spinal discs, any of which can lead to chronic pain.
Trauma-Related Back Pain
Too often, accidents cause painful injuries that may start patients on a path to chronic back pain. Back injuries can result from sports activities, traffic accidents, construction or other workplace mishaps, or simply from slip and falls. Any of the following back injuries caused by trauma can result in back pain that becomes chronic:
- Stress fractures
- Strains (of tendons) and sprains (of ligaments)
- Herniated or ruptured discs
- Pinched nerve in the neck (cervical radiculopathy)
- Pinched nerve in the lower back (e.g. sciatica)
Degenerative and Structural Issues
- Osteoarthritis (and associated bone spurs) due to the wear and tear of aging
- Sciatica caused by nerve compression that may result from wear and tear as well as from trauma
- Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
- Piriformis syndrome, a weakening of the muscle in the buttocks
Congenital Defects
Some individuals are burdened by lower back pain from birth due to congenital conditions, including:
- Muscular dystrophy that attacks the muscles
- Scoliosis, kyphosis, and lordosis that involve malformations of the spine
- Spondylolisthesis is an instability in which one vertebra may slip onto the bone below
- Ankylosing spondylitis, a form of inflammatory arthritis
In severe cases of birth deformity, crippling injury, advanced illness, age-related erosion, or a tumor pressing on a vertebral nerve, surgical intervention may be required to relieve chronic back pain. In the majority of cases, however, nonsurgical treatments will provide satisfactory relief.Â
The Treatments We Offer to Resolve Chronic Back Pain Issues
At Long Island Spine Rehabilitation Medicine, we provide a full spectrum of therapies to reduce back pain, from tried and true to cutting-edge, from traditional to complementary. We exercise extreme care in diagnosing the nature and cause of your chronic back pain to determine the proper therapies. We also take into account your medical history, any sensitivities (emotional as well as physical), and any pre-existing conditions to make sure that we offer you options tailored to your particular needs, such as:
- Acupuncture
- Customized physical therapy
- Medication management
- Soft tissue injection approaches
- Epidural, Facet, and Sacroiliac Injections
- PEMF (Pulsed Electromagnetic Field) Therapy
- Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)
Contact Our Highly Skilled, Experienced Back Pain Doctors Today
Living with chronic back pain interferes with pleasure as well as productivity. Don’t suffer needlessly. Make an appointment now with one of our capable, compassionate physiatrists to discuss how we can help you rediscover what it feels like to be running on all cylinders and enjoying the ride.