Serious Back Pain

What Are Your Treatment Options When Suffering From Serious Back Pain?

By Jarrett Kruse

Sometimes we’ve been to the back doctor enough o know the difference between serious back pain and the kind that a few days of rest will cure. Chronic back pain can be a hazard of every day life, especially for office workers or people who spend lots of time in traffic. Lots of times out back pain responds to our favorite home remedies, whether over-the-counter back pain medicine or the heating pad or ice pack. But sometimes our symptoms go beyond minor back pain and indicate a serious condition. For that kind of back pain we need professional intervention and treatment, whether physical therapy, prescription back pain medication, or surgical procedures.

It’s important to recognize when back pain can indicate or develop into serious illness. Look for these indicators:

Numbness, tingling, or loss of control in your arms or legs may signal damage to the spinal cord.
Radiating pain down the arm can mean a herniated disc in the neck. Pain down the hip or leg can mean herniated discs in the lumbar region
Neck or back that is accompanied that increases with pressure, that does not diminish with rest, or is accompanied by nausea, fever, or loss of appetite can signal a spinal tumor.
Shoulder or back pain that worsens with deep breathing can be a sign of lung cancer.
Sharp lower back pain on one side, not cause by injury, can signal kidney cancer
Nagging pain accompanied worsened by movement can mean osteoarthritis, herniated discs, osteoporosis, problems with spinal joints, or a number of other conditions

Treatment options for serious spinal or disc conditions include physical therapy, chiropractics, acupuncture and prescription anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving, or muscle-relaxing medication: For conditions such as spinal tumors, surgery is frequently an option. If the tumor is cancerous or if the back pain is from organ cancer, radiation or chemotherapy may be appropriate.