 | Back Pain Intervention |
What is back pain?
Back pain is one of the common reasons why people go to the consultation room, miss work, and is the most leading cause of disability worldwide. Symptoms of back pain may range from a muscle ache to a shooting, burning or stabbing sensation. The pain may radiate from down your leg or worsen when you are bending, twisting, lifting, standing or walking.
The is back is made up of structures of muscles, ligaments, tendons, discs and bones which work together to provide the body with structural support and allows us to move around freely. Problems with any of these structures may result in back pain. Back pain may be caused by the following:
- Strained muscles or ligaments
- Muscle tension
- Damaged spinal discs
- Injuries, fractures or falls
- Bulging discs which may be causing pressure on a nerve
- Arthritis which may cause problems with the joints in the hips and lower back
- Abnormal curvature of the spine
- Osteoporosis, when your vertebra becomes brittle and porous which may increase the risk of compression fractures
- Kidney problems such as kidney stones or infection
- A tumour in the spine
- The formation of a bundle of spinal nerve roots at the lower end of the spinal cord called cauda equina syndrome.
Back pain intervention or management is recommended to help treat chronic back pain, which is an alternative to back pain surgery.
What does back pain intervention entail?
Depending on the cause of the back pain, the neurosurgeon may recommend the following:
- Cortisone injections: These injections are recommended when pain radiates down your leg. Cortisone injections are strong inflammatory drugs that consist of numbing medicine which help decrease inflammation around the nerve roots.
- Botox injection: This injection is injected in the sprained muscles to reduce pain.
- Rhizotomy: This is a surgical procedure which involves the use of an electrode to deaden the sensory nerves, which then prevents pain signals from sending signals to the brain.
