Do You Need Chronic Back Pain Treatment?


Defined Tag: Chronic Back Pain.

Technically speaking, any pain that lasts longer than six months can be classified as chronic pain. Chronic back pain may be sharp, radiating, aching, localized or diffuse. Chronic muscle pain can include cramping, spasms, stiffness or swelling. Chronic joint pain can include restricted motion, radiating pain or heat sensations. Finding the appropriate chronic back pain treatment can be complicated, as chronic pain is frustrating to treat.

The first step in resolving chronic pain from back or neck injury is to try to find out exactly what is causing the pain signal to the brain. This can be quite similar to sorting out a massive short circuit after lightning strikes your fusebox. The unfortunate reality is that nearly 80 percent of all back pain sufferers will never learn the exact cause of their pain. This also means they may be trying all kinds of methods, but still missing out on the correct chronic back pain treatment.

Fortunately, there is still hope for chronic back pain sufferers. It is common for long term back and neck pain patients to have back stiffness and weakness, as they fear exercise will make them worse. A chronic back pain treatment that consists of regular stretching, strengthening and physical conditioning exercises will be able to help in this case.

It is becoming more acceptable for doctors to provide narcotics to patients suffering from chronic pain. Still, doctors need to be very concerned about the risk of physical dependence and addiction. For a long-term chronic back pain treatment, the physician should prescribe medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and tricyclic anti-depressants to decrease the narcotics dosage needed to make the patients comfortable.

Relaxation training can be a valuable skill for any person experiencing back or neck pain. It helps patients learn to modify the tension associated with their chronic pain condition and break the pain-tension cycle. Learning to relax can be a powerful tool in combating chronic back pain and helps the patients to take responsibility for their own condition.  

Another effective treatment for chronic back pain is through the use of injections, which are able to provide temporary relief of pain. Generally, with chronic back and neck pain, there are 3 types of injections: epidural steroid, trigger point and facet joint. Epidural steroid injection therapy is believed to be helpful in cases of sciatica, where a steroid is injected into the epidural space surrounding the spinal cord and nerves. A trigger point injection actually anesthetizes the point of pain in a muscle or at another location that may be transmitting the pain signal. In addition,  a facet joint injection will be able to relieve the painful sensation caused by sliding of spinal bones in facet joints.