Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Back pain - a little patience needed.

Have you ever gotten out of the chair, or a car and been locked into immobility by sudden, unexpected back pain? It's excruciating when it happens and you feel so powerless. Or perhaps you've been doing lots of lifting and then felt a searing pain shoot down a leg and into the foot, again leading to inability move and sure signs of sciatica!

Low back pain is common, and it HURTS. When it happens we want to get out of pain as quickly as we can and get back to "normal" without having to have anything "serious" done. That will often mean a visit to the Doc to get a diagnosis and find out "what's wrong". And here there is often a desire to get an Xray or a scan done ASAP to make sure it's not serious. Well, according to the experts, having that Xray or having that scan will not make the slightest bit of difference to treatment options or outcomes in the vast majority of cases. In fact most Xrays and scans are a real waste of precious Health Dollars.

These experts tell us that in the first 6 weeks after suffering from low back pain, with no "Red Light" symptoms, there is no need to perform any radiological screening as nearly all these cases will settle with appropriate, conservative physical therapy. Red light issues are serious progressive neurological disturbances and fear of serious other underlying conditions such as osteomyelitis.

So if and when you do get a severe back pain, don't pressure your Doc into sending you for "Scans"as in all likelihood it will be wasting not only your time but his time too: and by being patient you will save precious health dollars. Without complications back pain will settle in due time, and while it is, put that time to good use by learning how to care for your back for the rest of your life!
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4 comments:

Mariodacatsmom said...

BEing one who is bothered by severe back problems (lack of strength for one), I haven't found anything yet that really helps. I'd had PT several times, and even tho I do the exercises at home, some days my back just feels like it won't hold me up anymore, I've also tried ice and heat - both of which feel good for a half hour while doing it, then right back where you started agin. Very frustrating.

Jack Cruz said...

Being an office staff, sitting for 8 hours I usually experience upper back pain and I hate it much. I just do some exercise stuffs and put some pain reliever on it. Physical therapy is really the best.

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Anonymous said...

Hot tubs is the best for back pain.

regards,
Rachel

Seattle Chiropractor