Back Pain Treatment in Chicago

If you are looking for back pain treatment in Chicago, American Back Center has a solid track record in healing your ailment. Back pain is one of the most common reasons for people to seek medical attention. If you have a coworker on sick leave, there is every chance that they are suffering from back pain. Low Back pain is one of the biggest causes of disability around the world. It is normal for people to have back pain once they cross the age of 35.

In this article, we discuss the various treatments for back pain. There are several different methods that offer instant relief from back pain. They take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to heal the back. Normally, you don’t need surgery to treat back pain, and should use it only as the last resort.

Let’s quickly look at the Risk Factors of back pain, before telling you about the treatments…

Risk Factors for Back Pain

AgeBack pain normally occurs as you get older, in a lot of cases it starts at the age 30 or 35.

Lack of Physical Activity – When you are not physically active and don’t exercise your back muscles enough, that can lead to back pain.

Carrying Excessive Weight – Carrying more weight than you should, puts a lot of stress on your back.

Disease – Arthritis and cancer are some of the diseases that cause back pain.

Not Lifting in the Right Way – When you use your back to lift heavy stuff instead of your legs, this can result in back pain.

Psychological Factors – Stress, anxiety and depression and anxiety are some of the psychological factors that are known to cause back pain.

Smoking – Smoking affects the oxygen supply to the muscles in the back, which causes back pain.

Back Pain Treatment in Chicago

Home treatment for Back Pain

Home treatment, over the counter tablets such as aspirin, use of heat and ice, and sleep can heal most cases of back pain. However, it is important that you should stay active, and carry on with your daily activities such as house cleaning, cooking and so on, in spite of the back pain. Walking is recommended. You should walk at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. If home treatment fails, visit our back pain specialists at American Back Center.

Medications for Back Pain

Some of the common medications for back pain include Acetaminophen such as Tylenol, naproxen sodium such as Aleve, ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as Advil, Motrin IB and other over-the-counter medications as directed by your doctor. It is important that you don’t take these medications in excess, as that could lead to severe side effects.

Muscle relaxants are recommended if the over-the-counter medications for back pain do not work. However, they can make you dizzy and sleepy. Topical pain relievers such as creams and ointments that you rub into the back where the pain is at its worst are also useful.

If the pain is really quite bad, you can try narcotics such as codeine or hydrocodone, as directed by your doctor.

Antidepressants such as amitriptyline are known to relieve some types of chronic back pain. You can take these drugs for back pain, even if you don’t have depression, but only under the direction of your doctor.

Injections such as cortisone, which is an anti-inflammatory medication, are very effective at numbing the pain around the spinal cord. They decrease the inflammation around the sensitive areas, and provide instant pain relief which lasts for a few months at a time.

Spinal Decompression is an FDA approved method that has a solid track record of relieving back pain over a short span of sessions. Check out American Back Centers online video or book a free back pain consulation for more information about this.

Physical Therapy for Back Pain

Physical therapy is a very effective treatment for back pain as medications for back pain are not always effective. Physical therapy for back pain includes heat therapy, cold compress, electrical stimulation, ultrasound, spinal decompression, massage therapy and other techniques.

Your therapist would put you through a series of exercises to improve your flexibility and posture and to strengthen the back muscles. Physical therapy, unlike medications for back pain, ensures that the pain never comes back and hence is considered to be a better treatment.

Surgery for Back Pain

Surgery is recommended as the last resort for back pain if none of the other treatments are found to work. Surgery for back pain is performed when the patient has structural problems such as spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spine) or a herniated disk. We first like to consult with our patients to see if they qualify for sessions of Spinal Decompression to ensure that surgery is the last resort. If surgery is the final solution, we can help recommend a surgeon in the Chicago area that can help you with this proceedure.