Eight Ways to Deal with Back Pain Today

According to the National Institutes of Health, eight out of 10 people will experience back pain at some point in their lives and, of those, millions will lead a diminished quality of life because they neglect to do anything about it. They’ll list a slew of reasons—time, money, inconvenience, fear—for not “dealing” with back pain, over taking the simple steps to get a proper diagnosis. And while, in some cases, a diagnosis means surgery, more often than not, back pain sufferers are able to improve their spinal alignment and ease pain through other means.

DISC Sports & Spine Center’s Dr. Hooman M. Melamed, a local orthopedic spine surgeon who has been featured on The Doctors and Dr. Oz, among other local and national media outlets, wants people to understand that they have options when it comes to their care.

“Far too often, we see patients who are worried sick because they think their only recourse is back surgery requiring years of recovery,” said Dr. Melamed.  “That’s not the case.  There are numerous methods we can try before we decide that a surgery like spinal fusion is the way to go. Modern advances mean that even if you do need surgery, you can go home the same day.  In a few months, you can be right back to all normal activities.”

With that in mind, Dr. Melamed urges anyone who suffers from back pain to speak with a doctor about these eight courses of action, which might be enough to put back pain to rest.

1. Rest – This is one of the simplest yet most overlooked methods of treatment.  Rather than soldier through immense pain, take a couple days off of work to just rest.  You may be surprised by the results.
2. Exercise – Many people hurt their backs because their spines don’t get much movement.  Exercise on a regular basis, working with a personal trainer to identify the type of workout that will aid back health.
3. Medication – Any number of over-the-counter medications may keep your pain in check.  You may also be able to obtain a prescription from a doctor, although DISC cautions anyone against becoming too reliant on these, given the potential for abuse among some painkillers.
4. Diet – The more weight on the spine, the easier it is for misalignment to occur.  By eating right, some of the pressure placed on the spine can be alleviated by keeping your weight at optimum range.
5. Physical Therapy – DISC is a big proponent of MedX training, which strengthens your spine.  When pain has gotten out of control and no amount of home remedies are doing the trick, seek out a doctor and inquire about the possibility of regular physical therapy including Pilates and yoga.
6. Pain Management – In conjunction with physical therapy, some patients are able to benefit from injections that can reduce pain dramatically when administered at the site of the compressed nerve.
7. Spinal Fusion – Many instances of back pain are the result of two vertebrae falling out of alignment with one another, and in some cases, the only option for correction is a spinal fusion procedure, in which the two sections of the spine will be fused together via outside intervention.  This once time-consuming and risky procedure can now be conducted safely and efficiently on an outpatient and minimally invasive basis by DISC where the patient can go home the same day and back to work in one week in some cases.
8. Other Surgeries – Other causes of back pain could mean different types of minimally invasive surgery, including microdiscectomies, total disc replacements, nucleoplasties, and more.  Consult a doctor to find out what the right course of action would be for you.

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