Can Chronic Back Pain Be Treated? – Spine Surgery Plano TX
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Many people ask MINT’s Spine Surgery Plano TX: Can Chronic Back Pain Be Treated? It is an important question asked by people with chronic back pain that has taken a toll on their day-to-day life.
Chronic back pain lasts three months or longer. Although it can come and go or bring temporary relief, it affects your day-to-day life by causing severe discomfort, inflammation, and pain.
Therefore, it is crucial to seek sophisticated treatment options in Plano, TX, to relieve your back pain. Today’s article will answer: Can chronic back pain be treated? At the same time, we will discuss why minimally invasive spine surgery is the best option.
Can Chronic Back Pain Be Treated?
Chronic back pain often results from age-related conditions, such as arthritis. However, MINT’s Spine Surgery Plano TX says that previous injury can also cause chronic back pain. Arthritis is the most common cause of chronic spinal pain.
The condition is characterized by thinning the cartilage or soft tissues inside the spine. In addition, spinal stenosis is another condition that narrows the spinal canal, leading to nerve pain.
Similarly, herniated or bulging discs can cause severe discomfort, inflammation, and pain. Myofascial pain syndrome is another condition that can cause tendered muscles, leading to severe and unbearable pain. Here are a few ways to deal with chronic back pain in Plano, TX. Read on!
Physical Therapy
Can Chronic Back Pain Be Treated? The answer is “Yes.” Physical therapy is an excellent way to treat chronic back pain. A qualified physical or spine physical therapist will give you a list of specific exercises you can do at home to relieve pressure on your spine, improve flexibility, increase range of motion, and strengthen your muscles.
Physical therapy for chronic spinal pain usually includes posture retention exercises, testing the limits of your pain tolerance, aerobic exercises, core strengthening exercises, flexibility, and stretching workouts. However, physical therapy sessions do not work for everyone suffering from chronic back pain.
Medications and Steroid Injections
Medications are the first line of treatment for chronic back pain. Your doctor will prescribe NSAIDs, analgesics, muscle relaxants, opioids, and anti-depressants, depending on the pain intensity. However, medications can cause long-term side effects when used for a prolonged period.
On the other hand, epidural steroids or nerve-blocking injections are commonly used for chronic back pain. Although these injections, including neve ablations, can reduce discomfort and pain, they don’t work after some time. So, injections are not a suitable option for long-term use.
Alternative Medication or Techniques
Alternative medicine has gained popularity in recent years, allowing people to treat many health conditions, including chronic back pain. Massage therapy, acupuncture, laser therapy, biofeedback, and electrical nerve stimulation can significantly reduce back pain.
However, these treatment options are not the ultimate solutions for your back pain. It means you have to undergo these therapies continuously to keep the pain at bay. Therefore, MINT’s qualified Spine Surgery Plano TX recommends seeking a treatment option that relieves back pain and prevents it from returning.
Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
Surgery is the last option to treat chronic back pain. Two broad categories of spinal surgeries are open-back and minimally invasive procedures. Open-back is a traditional technique that requires the surgeon to make a large incision to reach the damaged area and perform the necessary steps to relieve the pain.
However, open-back surgeries have a higher risk of infections, muscle damage, spinal disability, increased postoperative pain, more extended hospital stays, and prolonged rehabilitation periods. On the other hand, minimally invasive surgery for chronic back pain does not have these complications.
Minimally invasive techniques used at MINT for spinal surgeries involve making smaller incisions, leading to less pain, trauma, bleeding, and shorter hospital stays. MINT’s Spine Surgery Plano TX makes a tiny incision in the spine or abdomen and uses specialized cameras and instruments to access and operate on the damaged area.
For example, the surgeon makes an incision in the back or front during a spinal fusion surgery, retract the muscles, and access the lumbar spine. The surgeon removes the damaged disc and replaces it with a bone graft material.
In addition, MINT’s Spine Surgery Plano TX uses rods, screws, and a mesh cage to secure the bone graft, allowing the two vertebrae to fuse quickly into a single, solid bone. Postoperative care requires physical therapy and an anti-inflammatory diet.
Minimally invasive surgery reduces or mitigates the risk of postoperative infections. So, Can Chronic Back Pain Be Treated? Yes, minimally invasive surgery is the ultimate solution to alleviate back pain and resume your day-to-day activities quickly. Contact us today for more information or schedule an appointment with our board-certified and experienced Spine Surgery Plano TX.
