Pain Management for Back Pain

by David Kingham

Back pain is a debilitating medical condition which is experienced by almost everyone at least once in a lifetime. With the coming of modern pain management, it is now possible for specialists to address acute and chronic back pain more effectively than ever before. The pain relieving modalities and techniques in use today at popular healthcare facilities have helped patients feel better by alleviating the intensity of pain in a relatively short time.

Effective Pain Management Techniques

There may be many reasons for back pain which may range from mild to severe. Some of these may be damage or injuries to the spine, discs, tendons, ligaments and nerves, or lumbar and muscle strain. Certain ailments are also known to trigger pain such as spinal stenosis, lumbar spinal arthritis, spondylolisthesis or osteoporosis. The sensory component of pain is treated by specialists in the field who are known as pain management specialists.

Pain management specialists comprise physiotherapists, chiropractors, clinical psychologists and others. They work in unison to identify and understand the underlying cause of the back pain. The specialists evaluate the patient’s condition accurately before finalizing an individualized treatment plan. This may constitute the following:

• NSAIDs – medications to minimize excruciating back pain
• TENS – mild electrical nerve stimulation to calm nerves that induce pain
• Heat/Cold Application – provides relief from back pain and stiffness
• Massage – hands on approach eases the stress on the pain affected region
• Therapeutic Exercises – helps strengthen the back and improve functionality
• Ultrasound – relieves back pain and speeds up the healing process
• Injections (trigger point, epidural steroid and facet joint injections) – administered to bring pain under immediate control

Apart from these pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic procedures, patients can expect counseling sessions on how to prevent back pain from recurring and various ways to lead a healthy lifestyle. They also help those who suffer from anxiety and depression caused by intense pain.

Keep Pain under Constant Control

Proper pain management techniques can help patients keep back pain under constant control. However, to ensure considerable relief it is best to consult a physician when pain sets-in the early stages so that it doesn’t persist and worsen in the coming days. The treatment and techniques practiced in popular healthcare facilities are safe and quite effective.