Back pain is one of the most common reasons people seek medical help or miss work. It is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Back pain can range from a muscle aching to a shooting, burning or stabbing sensation. Fortunately, there are measures that can help prevent or relieve most back pain episodes. If prevention fails, simple home treatment and using the body correctly often will heal the back within a few weeks. Dr. Maziyar Kalani, a Mayo Clinic neurosurgeon, shares ways you can avoid surgery for back pain.
Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute
Dr. Kalani says there are measures to help assist with most back pain. Medications, physical therapy and exercise can help.
“Our main goal is to try to get you treated non-operatively. A majority of people will get improvement with just nonoperative, or what we call conservative therapy,” he says.
There are times when surgery for back pain is necessary.
“We tend to see a lot more of things like pinched spinal cords, pinched nerves, instability of the spine. These are things that surgery is quite effective for, of course, after you’ve really gone on through the nonoperative care. When you have surgery on your body, it does change your body. So we want to make sure that you get a really high return on the invasiveness of the surgery. And we try to keep it, of course, as least invasive as possible,” says Dr. Kalani.
When to see medical help for back pain
- Pain is intense or constant, especially at night or when lying down.
- If pain spreads down one or both legs, especially below the knee.
- Weakness or numbness in one of both legs.
- Swelling or redness on the back.
For pain after a trauma such as an accident, fall or sports injury, seek immediate medical help or call 911.
Related posts:
- Mayo Clinic Minute: Improving bone health before spinal surgery
- Mayo Clinic Q and A: Targeting pain with restorative neuromodulation
- Pain in the back: Preventing and treating spinal arthritis
The post Mayo Clinic Minute: How can you avoid surgery for back pain? appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.
Disclaimer
The information contained in South Florida Reporter is for general information purposes only.
The South Florida Reporter assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of the Service.
In no event shall the South Florida Reporter be liable for any special, direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages or any damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tort, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Service or the contents of the Service. The Company reserves the right to make additions, deletions, or modifications to the contents of the Service at any time without prior notice.
The Company does not warrant that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components
This article originally appeared here and was republished with permission.
