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| Treating Chronic Nonspecific Back Pain |
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When it comes to pain, back pain is one of the most debilitating conditions any individual can face. For millions of Americans who deal with chronic nonspecific back pain, the challenges range from agonizing pain and back spasms to difficulty in walking, sleeping, and the performance of normal daily activities. Unlike the occasional back spasm or sore back, chronic back pain is a long-lasting condition that either remains with the subject or recurs on a continual basis. Chronic back pain of the nonspecific variety has no known cause, unlike the pain associated with herniated disks, or back pain stemming from an injury. The treatment of chronic nonspecific back pain often involves a variety of methods that are designed to affect the patient's physical, mental, and social outlooks.
Since the pain of chronic nonspecific back conditions directly impacts your ability to perform your normal daily tasks, the most important aspect of treatment is how therapy can improve your overall functioning. Reducing the pain is an essential part of treatment, but it generally takes a back seat to the more important goal of rehabilitating your back so that you can continue to live a relatively normal life - albeit with some lowered level of pain and discomfort. To that end, most treatments focus on restoring range of motion, overall strength, mobility, stability, and posture.
Noninvasive treatments are the option of choice in the beginning stages of treatment for nonspecific chronic back pain, with surgery reserved as a last resort. Many doctors will, at least in the beginning stages of treatment, recommend the use of a back brace or other support tool to assist in maintaining proper posture and supporting the weight of the body. To avoid the inevitable atrophying of the trunk muscles, it is generally recommended that the use of a back brace be restricted to only a few hours each day. In most cases, doctors combine all therapies with some form of pain medication to reduce inflammation and pain until the back has been sufficiently rehabilitated to enable a natural reduction in pain levels.
Among the most popular treatments for chronic nonspecific back pain are cold and heat therapy, physical therapy, and electrical stimulation. Cold and heat therapy is used for many muscle injuries, and many doctors prescribe its use for chronic nonspecific back pain as well. While cold can reduce inflammation and swelling, there is not yet sufficient scientific evidence to demonstrate cold and heat's efficacy in the long term treatment of any back pain - though many doctors and patients remain convinced of its value.
Physical therapy remains the treatment option of choice for back pain, as it is with many other injuries and pain conditions. By strengthening the muscles of the back and abdomen, improving mobility and range of motion, and enabling greater stability in the torso, physical therapy can help to restore the normal state of the patient's back. Even in cases where the back does not fully recover, the improvements in strength, flexibility, and mobility alone are often invaluable in assisting individuals suffering from this condition to rejoin much of their normal routine.
Many times, the attending physician utilizes a combination of these therapies, as well as electrical stimulation, behavioral therapy, and a multi-pronged approach to treatment that encompasses the full range of treatment options available to the patient. The important thing to remember is to work with your doctor to evaluate each therapy to determine which ones work best for your pain.
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