What Do Pain Management Doctors Do For Back Pain?

What do pain management doctors do for back pain?

What do pain management doctors do for back pain? If you’re suffering from chronic back pain or other types of pain, you need to find a highly-skilled, reliable pain management doctor near your location. Pain management doctors are specialists with advanced training in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain. They use cutting-edge imaging techniques to narrow down the root cause of back pain, following which they curate a comprehensive treatment plan.

Instead of simply masking the symptoms of back pain, pain management doctors use minimally invasive techniques to address the root cause and alleviate the symptoms. Interventional pain doctors avoid using opioids that simply mask the symptoms without providing long-lasting pain relief. Furthermore, you must find pain management doctors who exhaust all conservative and minimally invasive treatment options before recommending back surgeries.

Back Center New Jersey is a state-of-the-art back center specializing in cutting-edge diagnostic techniques and treatments for back pain. Our interventional pain doctors start your treatments with non-invasive, conservative solutions, such as physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medications, following which they may offer injectables and minimally invasive treatments. Complex surgical procedures are only reserved as a last resort option.

Below, we provide an overview of the techniques that our interventional pain management doctors use to treat back pain. You may schedule an appointment to explore your back pain treatment options in New Jersey.

RICE

RICE stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation, and it should be the first line of treatment for everyone. If you’re suffering from back pain, your pain management doctor will ask you to rest the injured area and immobilize the back. You might even receive a back brace to immobilize the back. You have to apply ice packs on your back for around 20 minutes at regular intervals to reduce swelling, wear a compression garment, and elevate the injured area.

Physical Therapy

In addition to RICE, your back pain doctor may recommend physical therapy exercises. Physical therapy includes a collection of exercises that strengthen your back muscles, improve mobility and range of motion, and alleviate back pain. Physical therapy is usually enough to address the root cause of back pain and facilitate recovery. But if physical therapy doesn’t work, you may have to proceed with minimally invasive treatments.

Anti-Inflammatory Medications

Your back pain doctor may offer anti-inflammatory medications to alleviate chronic back pain. If you’re suffering from back pain because of inflammatory conditions, pain medications and anti-inflammatory medications can alleviate the pain and discomfort.

Epidural Steroid Injections

Epidural steroid injections are medications injected into the epidural space of the spine, i.e., the space around the spinal cord. Epidural injections may consist of medications with steroids, anesthetics, and anti-inflammatory medications. When injected into targeted areas of the spinal cord, they can alleviate pain and reduce inflammation.

Nerve Blocks

Nerve blocks are minimally invasive treatments that involve delivering local anesthetics into the nerve roots responsible for transmitting pain signals. Back pain often occurs when your nerve roots are pinched or compressed, leading to inflammation and chronic back pain. When injected into targeted areas, nerve blocks can temporarily numb the nerve roots responsible for the transmission of pain signals and alleviate back pain.

Radiofrequency Ablation

Radiofrequency ablation is a suitable minimally invasive back pain treatment after nerve blocks. Back pain doctors use nerve blocks to diagnose and identify the specific nerve root responsible for back pain. After diagnosing the inflamed nerve, they use specialized catheters to burn the damaged nerve and alleviate back pain. Radiofrequency ablation alleviates back pain for 6 to 12 months.

Spinal Cord Stimulation

Spinal cord stimulation is a minimally invasive procedure that involves the surgical insertion of a small device near the spine. The device generates mild electrical impulses to prevent the nerves from transmitting pain signals, thus minimizing back pain. Spinal cord stimulation offers long-lasting pain relief, but it should only be used as a last resort.

Which doctor do I see for back pain?

If you’re suffering from back pain, you must consult an interventional back pain doctor. Interventional back pain specialists use cutting-edge diagnostic tools and techniques to identify the root cause of back pain, following which they curate a personalized treatment plan consisting of minimally invasive procedures. Since they address the root cause of back pain, the results are more long-lasting and sustainable.

What are the qualities of a good pain management doctor near me?

The following are some of the qualities to consider when looking for pain management doctors:

• Board Certification: You should ideally look for board-certified pain management doctors specializing in the latest pain treatments. In order to get certified in pain medicine, physicians must undergo advanced training through residency programs and fellowships, thus establishing themselves as some of the country’s leading pain specialists.
• Minimally Invasive Treatments: You must look for back pain doctors specializing in minimally invasive treatments, such as epidural steroid injections, nerve blocks, and facet joint injections. The best pain doctors should only recommend surgery or spinal cord stimulation as a last resort option when all conservative treatments fail.
• Comprehensive Care: You must look for back pain specialists who offer comprehensive pain management. Comprehensive pain care includes the careful diagnosis and treatment of the root cause of back pain, thus helping you achieve sustainable, long-lasting results.
• Free Insurance Verification: The pain doctor must offer free insurance verification. Their office staff must verify the terms and conditions of your insurance plan and actively help with insurance coverage to minimize your out-of-pocket financial cost.