Lower Back Pain Treatment Options

What Are Your Options Once You Fall Victim To Back Pain?

By Jarrett Kruse

Lower back pain troubles most people at some point in their lives. Many treatment options offer relief, and the treatment that’s right for you may depend on your particular back pain symptoms. Chiropractics, medication, low back pain exercises, acupuncture, and physical therapy can all reduce back pain. Some or all of these forms of pain treatment may be prescribed by a back doctor. While lower back pain treatment may be similar to treatment for upper back pain, diagnosis and treatment of the underlying causes of the pain can vary greatly.

You may have already found a treatment method for your back pain. Or, a general practitioner, orthopedist, neurologist or other medical doctor may determine that specialized diagnosis and treatment of back pain are warranted. In most cases, you or your provider is most likely to choose one of the following options:

  • Physical therapy: Most good physical therapists include a program of exercises for the patient to perform at home. By strengthening the muscles included in surrounding the area of pain, you can relieve many of your symptoms.
  • Chiropractics: Many people feel relief from a realignment of their spines by a skilled chiropractor. Once strictly an alternative medicine, chiropractics is now recognized by many doctors and insurance companies
  • Acupuncture. This ancient Chinese method of treatment has proved successful for many patients. The acupuncturist inserts needles into particular points in the body, redirecting energy and relieving pain.
  • Medication. Some of the most common prescription drugs are mobic, naprosyn  or ibuprofen as anti-inflammatories, flexeril or valium as muscle relaxers, and a variety of narcotic and non-narcotic pain relievers
  • Surgery. Sometimes spinal ailments such as herniated discs or slipped vertebrae require intervention from an orthopedic surgeon. It’s important to find a skilled surgeon and to consider surgery as a last resort, after all other treatments have failed.