Back pain is so widespread that 80% of adults suffer from low back pain at a certain point in their lives as reported by the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke (NINDS). It is the leading cause of disability linked to work and leads significantly to missing working days. It has an equal impact on both men and women and varies from a constant dull ache through to extreme intense pain. It is also caused by an injury, posture, heavy lifting, diet, or age.
Low back pain is acute or short-term more often than not. In a few weeks or months it appears to relieve itself by self-care, but occasionally pain will continue for a long time. At that time, you will have to consult a back specialist for treatment.
How Back Pain Doctors Are Specialized?
- Three different categories of back pain doctors are interested in the treatment of back pain:
- Therapists – Therapists, physical therapists and clinical psychologists have experience in chronic back pain addiction, addiction recovery, and psychology.
Spine Specialist: The specialist for spine are experts of their field and they only treat certain areas of your body. The category is further broken into:
- Physiatrist
- Surgeons
- Neurologists
- Rheumatologists
- Anaesthesiologists
Primary Care Providers – The first person to treat back pain is always a doctor if further treatment is needed. They normally contain:
- Osteopathic Medicine Doctors
- Chiropractitioners
- Physicians in primary care (family practitioners, pediatrists, obstetricians, internists, gynaecologists).
When to See a Back Pain Physician?
You should decide whether you see a doctor about your back pain with red flags. These warnings help to evaluate the existence or detect fractures of tumors, infections of the spine. If you have the following, see a back pain doctor as soon as possible:
Severe Pain
In 2-5 weeks with much rest and counter medication, back pain usually gets better. However, if the pain lasts for over two weeks and prohibits you from conducting a basic everyday task, further testing and examinations shall be required to assess the diagnosis.
Unexpected Loss of Weight
A sudden rapid loss of weight without even diet can happen due to the back pain caused by infection and tumours. In order to further aid the diagnosis, MRI and blood tests will be needed.
Excessive Pain at Night
Pain should not be overlooked, it can be a symptom of something severe such as disc degeneration or a tumor that wakes you up in the night.
Drop Foot
This is called "foot drop" sometimes. This means that the front portion of the foot cannot be raised, which moves the toes around the ground.
Osteoporotic Condition
The doctor could exclude the cause of back pain as a fracture because of weak bones.
Bowel and Urinary problems
If you have this problem, it is important to tell the doctor because it may be a symptom of a rare disease called the cauda equina syndrome. This condition is a case of nerve roots in the lower end of the spinal cord being squeezed or paralyzed.
Do not delay to visit Neuroscience Specialist in OKC when you suffer from severe back pain. Our back specialist will help to alleviate pain by providing appropriate treatment.
**Disclaimer- Information presented here is not intended to be qualified medical advice. Nothing expressed herein creates a doctor-patient relationship.