Welcome to Back Pain
Federal Spinal Cord Injury Program Article
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Top Ten Questions to Ask your Doctor about your Back Pain
Obtaining an accurate history and description of the back pain is a doctor’s primary method of tracking down the cause and determining whether treatment is necessary. Some information the doctor will need from you:
Where the pain is located in your back and when you experience this pain, does it also radiate to other parts of your body?
What is the severity of the pain? They will normally ask on a scale of 1 to 10, ten being the worse.
When did the pain begin? If you had an injury, the pain may be due to this. If there has been no injury then the doctor will look at a different cause such as spinal stenosis.
What makes your back feel better or worse? This information tells the pattern of pain and may indicate whether a nerve is involved, possibly because of a disk herniation.
Have you ever experienced a prior episode of back pain? If so, what was the treatment and did you consider it effective. It is possible that a previous condition has resurfaced.
Are there any other health problems? The doctor will look at other health issues you are experiencing so that they have a complete picture of the potential causes of the back pain.
Are you taking any medications such as corticosteroids or anticonvulsants? These types of medications can affect spinal bone mass.
The doctor will want to know about your profession, exercise, or activities you do. Often times muscle injury is frequently related to a particular activity.
Once your doctor has this information, they will probably perform a physical examination. This exam typically focuses on the back, legs, and feet. The doctor will look at your posture and curvature of the spine; a hands-on examination of tender areas in the back may provide clues to the origin of the pain. Depending on the finding during the examination, your doctor will let you know if they think other types exams should be considered.
Approximately 90 percent of back pain occurrences clear up within six weeks with little or no medical intervention. Those who suffer from back pain can safely try self-treatment as long as they are not feeling severe pain or symptoms of a dangerous condition. In most cases, back pain due to muscle injury will subside completely in about six to eight weeks. Back pain lasting longer than this is normally due to spinal column changes and deserves a visit to a medical health care professional.
Now that you have an idea of what your doctor will want to know, you may also want to make a list of what you want to ask your doctor. Some questions to ask your medical health care professional:
Can you treat the pain at home or will you require a different method of intervention
What posture, ergonomics and body mechanics should I practice
What is your ideal weight and if you need to lose weight what recommendations does your doctor suggest
Should you take it easy for a certain amount of time, if so how long? What are the limits to your mobility if this is necessary?
Can exercise relieve your pain, if so what does your doctor recommend?
Is there any medication that you can take either over-the-counter or prescription that can help alleviate the pain?
Will surgery be necessary?
Would you benefit from advanced pain therapies?
What are the causes of back pain other than pulling a muscle?
Could stress by a factor in your back pain?
What are the chances that the back pain will result in permanent disability?
You may want to talk to your doctor about some back relaxation exercises that you can do at home to help ease the pain and discomfort. Many of these exercises involve gentle stretching to relax back muscles, lengthen the spine, and relieve compression of the vertebrae. They are useful for alleviating strain on the back. Another at home technique is lying down. This takes pressure off the spine and normally lessens the pain. You want to be careful because you do not want to become immobile. Exercising the muscles in the back will bring much-needed nutrients to aide in healing.
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