All About Back Pain Treatments

NSAIDs for Neck or Back Pain: Helpful or Harmful to You?

Over a period of time, NSAIDs can raise blood pressure and effect kidney function.

Artificial Discs -- Surgical Fad or Real Breakthrough?

The ideal patient for a cervical disc protrusion arthroplasty is the same patient we would consider for an anterior cervical fusion.

Buying From Online Pharmacies: Does the Convenience Outweigh the Risks?

Alarmingly, drugs sold online may be counterfeit (fake), contaminated, or have too high or too low a dose.

Acetaminophen: First-Line Defense for Back and Neck Pain

Acetaminophen is a common first-line treatment for back and neck pain. It’s available over-the-counter and an ingredient in some prescription pain drugs.

Artificial Disc Replacement Surgery

Artificial disc replacement is an emerging alternative to spinal fusion for the surgical treatment of severe disc problems. Lumbar artificial disc replacement still has some hurdles to overcome, but cervical disc replacement has made great strides.

Chiropractic Spinal Adjustment: What was that pop?

You're at the chiropractor getting treatment for your back pain, and during a spinal adjustment, you hear a large popping noise. It sounds a bit alarming, doesn't it? Should you be concerned?

Back Pain Treatment by a Physiatrist

Physiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R). The patient's primary care physician (PCP) or spine surgeon may refer to a physiatrist for further evaluation, diagnosis and non-surgical treatment.

Interventional Pain Management: A Comprehensive Approach to Chronic Pain

The goals of interventional pain management are to relieve, reduce, or manage pain and improve a patient's overall quality of life.

Connecting Back Pain to Depression and Anxiety

As researchers are learning more about the links between pain, depression and anxiety, they are also gaining insight into ways to break the cycle of pain and emotional distress.

Anti-Depressants for Back Pain and Neck Pain

While the pain-relieving ability of antidepressants isn’t fully understood, it’s believed that these drugs work in the central nervous system to reduce pain signals.

Chiropractic Eases Low Back Pain in Military Members

Evidence-based study outcomes show care by a chiropractor improves low back pain in soldiers with cross-over to civilians.

5 Chiropractic Services to Question

The American Chiropractic Association and the Choosing Wisely campaign released a list of 5 spine care procedures and tests to question.

Nerve, Fusion, and Implant Complications of Spine Surgery

Your spine surgeon will explain the potential benefits and complications related to your overall health, and the particular type of spine surgery recommended.

Complex Spine Surgery: Your Questions Answered

Complex spinal surgery risks and complications often include diabetes, smoking, and obesity. Questions patients ask are answered by a neurosurgeon.

Oral Steroids and Back Pain

Oral steroids, or corticosteroids such as prednisone taken by mouth, are prescription anti-inflammatory medications that may be prescribed to treat low back pain or neck pain. Be sure to discuss potentially serious side effects with your doctor.

Herbal Supplements for Back Pain

If you have back or neck pain and want to explore alternatives to conventional drugs and medications, herbal supplements may be an option. Herbal supplements are natural and often possess medicinal properties, but they can pose safety concerns.

Foraminotomy: Spinal Surgical Procedure

A foraminotomy may be combined with other procedures such as a laminotomy or laminectomy.

Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF): Spine Surgeon Explains

Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion, TLIF, is a surgical procedure performed to relieve sciatica, decompress spinal nerves and stabilize the low back.

Tame Stress to Reduce Neck and Back Pain

Stress can make your back pain or neck pain worse (or it can even cause back pain!). Learn about 5 tips for managing stress and back pain.

Lumbar Epidural Injection

Lumbar spinal epidural steroids injections may help relieve low back and leg pain often caused by lumbar spinal stenosis or disc herniation.

Spine Surgery Success Story: Fire Chief Back at Work After Cervical Fusion

This fire fighter’s spine surgeon explains cervical myelopathy and the surgical procedure that put his patient back to work.

Confusion About Spinal Fusion

Spinal fusion is a surgical procedure performed to treat spinal deformity and/or stabilize one or more segments of the spine to prevent painful motion or micro-motion.

Occupational Therapy: Questions and Answers

The purpose of Occupational Therapy (OT) is to help people increase their functional independence in daily life while preventing or minimizing disability.

Percutaneous Discectomy

Percutaneous disc decompression or percutaneous discectomy is a type of spine surgery performed to treat sciatica back and leg pain caused by a bulging disc or herniated disc.

Chiropractic Care for Low Back Pain

Seeing a doctor of chiropractic, otherwise known as a chiropractor, chiropractic physician or DC, can be a beneficial step towards effectively treating low back pain.

Bone Growth Stimulation is Wearable Therapy After Spinal Fusion

Your body’s ability to heal and repair is particularly important during a spine surgery that involves fusion—joining two or bone spinal bones together.

TLIF and PLIF: Minimally Invasive Spine Surgeries

Learn what spine conditions TLIF and PLIF are most commonly used for, how they can be performed minimally invasively, and the potential risks associated with these spine surgeries.

Role of the Pain Management Specialist

Pain management doctors are pain medicine specialists who work to reduce their patients' pain, improve functional abilities and quality of life. The pain management team is made up of different medical professionals including physiatrists, oncologists, anesthesiologists, and physical therapists.

Spinal Traction

Spinal traction is a non-surgical therapy that gently separates or distracts the spinal column in opposite directions to stabilize or change the position of vertebrae and soft tissues.

Surgery for Herniated Disc with Sciatica: Find the Right Surgeon, Ask the Right Questions

A lumbar herniated disc is a common cause of sciatica resulting in low back and leg pain that is called a lumbar radiculopathy. Information about how to choose a spine surgeon and 10 smart questions to ask.

Chiropractic Therapies

Although their main method of treatment is the spinal manipulation, many chiropractors also use other therapies to treat their patients. This article provides patients with information about many of the most common chiropractic therapies.

A Chiropractic Visit: Diagnostic Tests and Treatment

Chiropractors use a variety of tests as part of the physical examination to help diagnose the patient's problem.

Hot and Cold Therapies for Pain and Discomfort

Hot and cold therapies are the oldest forms of treatment to help reduce muscle inflammation, tenderness, and pain. Learn more in this article.

Cervical Spine Surgery: An Overview

Cervical spine surgery is performed by removing a disc or a bone and fusing the vertebrae together with a bone graft either in front of or behind the spine.

What Is Microdiscectomy?

Microdiscectomy is one of the most common minimally invasive spine procedures. Also known as microdecompression, microdiscectomy is a type of decompression technique that takes pressure off your spinal cord or nerve roots to relieve your pain.

Radiofrequency Ablation Treatment for Neck, Back and Sacroiliac Pain

Radiofrequency ablation may help manage your back pain, and may be combined with other non-surgical therapies. Radiofrequency neurotomy and rhizotomy are other names for this procedure.

Cigarette Smoking and Its Impact on Spinal Fusions

Smoking cigarettes weakens the body's systems and does not let them function normally due to the increased levels of toxins in the body.

What Is the Relation Between Chiropractic and Spinal Manipulation?

Chiropractors perform the majority of spinal manipulations in the US. The goal of spinal manipulation is to...

Manipulation Under Anesthesia for Back, Neck and Joint Pain

Manipulation under anesthesia is a noninvasive stretching and manipulative technique performed by a trained and certified physician to help relieve back, neck, and joint pain.

Radiofrequency Neurotomy Information for Sacroiliac Joint Pain

A neurotomy is a non-surgical pain management procedure that may help ease sacroiliac joint pain.

Spine Surgery: PreOperative Questions

Patients have many questions about surgery. Answers to some of these questions include topics such as anesthesia, recovery time, physical therapy, and cost.

Spine Surgery: Questions to Ask Your Doctor

If you are scheduled to have spinal surgery, one way to relieve your anxiety about the procedure is to learn all you can about the procedure. This article includes some sample questions that you can take with you to your next appointment.

Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PLIF)

Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) is a type of spine surgery performed from the back of the spine involving discectomy, interbody cages and bone graft for spinal fusion.

Epidural Injection for Low Back and Leg Pain

Spinal epidural injections place powerful anti-inflammatory medication near or at the pain-provoking nerve area of the spine.

Is Acupuncture Effective to Help or Reduce Back Pain, and is it Safe?

Today, as people are becoming more aware of alternative treatments and seek pain relief options that do not include medication. Acupuncture seems to have jumped to the top of many people’s radar.

Frequently Asked Questions about Chiropractic

Article answers frequently asked questions about chiropractic care. Find out how often you’ll need to visit a chiropractor to ease your back pain, as well as how to choose a good chiropractor for your back or neck pain.

Meningitis Outbreak Linked to Spinal Injections

You may have heard about a recent outbreak of meningitis linked to spinal injections for back pain. We have the latest updates on the outbreak and recall, including which states have been affected and symptoms to look out for.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation May Help Reduce Neck and Back Pain

TENS works to decrease pain perception and may be used to control acute and chronic pain. It may also be used with other treatments such as exercise.

Ultrasound Warms Neck or Back Muscles for Active Physical Therapy

Ultrasound is a passive modality: a supplement to the primary treatment (e.g. exercise). Passive modalities typically are used to relax the patient, a distraction from pain, and/or to warm muscles for exercise.

Physical Therapy: TENS, Ultrasound, Heat and Cryotherapy

Physical therapy to treat neck or back pain usually includes ice and heat, ultrasound and/or TENs; transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation.

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All About Back Pain Treatments