Back Pain

Most episodes of low back pain are self limited, meaning that they will resolve no matter what the treatment is. But, in some people these episodes of back pain can become chronic, meaning that they do not go away. The back pain continues and causes problems indefinitely.

Low back pain is a common problem for all types of people, no matter what their job is. There is no quick fix or total cure for most back problems. The good news is that chronic back problems can be treated effectively to limit the impact on your day to day life. How your back pain affects you on a daily basis is very much up to you - how you view your back pain, how well you undertand your back problem and what you do to protect your back.

Most people with low back pain do not simply injure their back suddenly. Over many years your back is subjected to repeated stress which may not result in pain at the time the injury to the parts of the spine actually occurs. These repeated injuries add up, and can slowly cause degeneration of the parts of the spine and low back pain. Most episodes of low back pain are at least partially the result of degenerative changes that have occurred in the back over many years. There may be an acute injury that causes your back to begin to hurt, but the overall condition of the lumbar spine is also very important. The overall condition of the spine usually determines how fast you will rcover and the risk of the condition becoming chronic.

The goal of any treatment program should be to improve your back pain symptoms and to slow the progression of the degenerative process occurring in the spine. The physician's role in the treatment of low back pain should be aimed at identifying dangerous problems that require immediate attention, and attempting to prevent chronic back problems by giving you the tools to help prevent further injury. The goal of this presentation is to help you understand more about your back problem so that you can better make decisions and help yourself.

The first thing that must be done is to provide your doctor with a complete history of your back pain. After a history has been provided, your doctor will conduct a thorough physical exmination. X-rays of your lower back may also be ordered at the initial office visit if your back pain has been going on for more than 4-6 weeks. X-rays are sometimes ordered if there are specific reasons to suspect a fracture, infection, or possibly a malignant tumor of the spine. X-rays show the bones of the lumbar spine. Most of the soft tissue structures of the spine do not show up. Still, much can be learned from the X-rays in certain instances. Here we see X-rays taken of the same patient 20 years apart, showing the degree of degeneration in the spinal segments during that time. If your physician feels that other special radiologic tests to look at the spine will be needed, X-rays are usually a first step in looking into any back problem and will help in deciding which other tests, if any, will be required. There are many tests available to try and find out what is causing your low back pain.