Back Pain
Filed under: Pain Management Pinellas, Tampa Pain Management Doctors
The back is most complex structures of human with lots of bones.
Four out of five workers suffers back pain during their work life. That is a lot of back pain. Work related back pain is the most common disorders. This injury will prevent people return to work; causes employers a lot of nervous and headache. The employers are not sure whether my reliable workers will show up for work today;
How do I schedule for the rest of the week? Who will be here? and who will be absent?
This is one of the most common challenges both employers and employees have to deal with.
Back pain is most often felt in the lower back, sometimes it is acute and then continuously progress to chronic pain. Chronic pain can come and go for awhile. Chronic pain increases its frequency month to month and week to week. Any little motion can start a chronic pain after a while.
There are 24 or 25 bones forming out back, just imagine that you stack the bones up and ensure that they stay up properly when you twist and turn. That is a difficult task.
The muscles and ligaments form around the bones and keep the bone in place after all the twists and turns.
Despite modern technology, the exact causes of back pain are hard to pinpoint because there are a lot causes and effects related to back pain.
Pain Management Options
More than $55 Billions are spent on back pain diagnosis and treatments. Surgery, medications, physical therapy and acupuncture.
All treatments work with some people, but there is no one single treatment is the preferred choice. Surgery is expensive. Medications can control pain and relief anxieties, give your control back to your normal life, however medications have side effects. If you have ulcers or bleeding, do not just use over the counter medications, consult with a physicians first. Physical exercise is good for long term, you have to try with small steps, the key is to continue pushing daily.
Back pain is very common and you can be treated at Pain Management Doctors Tampa, You don’t have to suffer alone, you deserve a good understanding staff of pain management. We are here for YOU.
Back Pain Questions lost works
Pain Management doctors Pinellas and back pain.
Toughest pain to get out of bed in the morning.
Pain in the back, also known as dorsalgia, accounts for a large number of lost days at work and frequent visits to the physician. Back pain is so common that it is, more often than not, given disregard by the patients themselves. However, pain, regardless of where it is felt, is a warning sign that should be given prompt attention to prevent it from worsening and to detect the underlying cause. It is a symptom, not a disease in itself, which should stand for a red flag for everybody.
Back pain may either be acute, sub-acute, or chronic. Acute pain is felt for less than 4 weeks, sub-acute pain 4-12 weeks, and chronic pain, which is pain lasting beyond 12 weeks. Anatomically, back pain can be subdivided into neck pain, upper back pain, and lower back pain. Back pain, regardless of its location and duration, has to be evaluated by a physician in order to determine underlying causes that may or may not be life-threatening. Listening to the warning signs given by a back pain can help you address possible medical problems such as kidney diseases, abdominal aortic aneurysm and appendicitis.
As such, diagnostic procedures are in order for every determination of medical condition. The following will be employed in order to determine the cause of your back pain:
* Physical examination and an interview to secure a thorough medical history, so it is important not to leave out any condition/s you have or have had, including medications you are taking or have taken.
* Spinal X-ray, although this will be useless in the evaluation within the first 30 days from pain onset.
* MRI scans to determine tumors, fractures, or infections.
* Myelogram, when an MRI is not desirable.
* CT scan of the spine.
* Nerve tests e.g. electromyogram.
In treating back pain, it is of utmost importance to identify the underlying cause. However, treating the back pain as a symptom is also of equal importance. Non-prescription meds such as NSAIDS (commonly ibuprofen), will be beneficial in short-term pain relief. Consequently, as NSAIDS erode the stomach lining, caution should be taken in taking these types of analgesics. Make sure that you have eaten before taking one. Acetaminophens, such as Tylenol, will provide a good substitute for NSAIDS. Still, there?s a caveat: Acetaminophens thin the blood. If you have a clotting disorder, this is not for you. Opioid analgesics are discouraged. It may cause sedation and may afford you longer pain relief, but the danger lies in the risk for dependence.
Non-pharmacological means of pain relief will provide a good complement to any pain relief regimen. The use of intermittent heat and cold application, though not widely given credence, is found to be effective for some people. Just make sure that both hot and cold packs are not applied directly to the skin in order to avoid skin injury.
Bedrest may seem beneficial, but not if it is prolonged. Patients should take bedrest for up to 48 hours only. Any longer than that will put you at increased risk for deep vein thrombosis, a disorder attributed to immobility in which clots are formed in the deep veins of the legs, compromising venous circulation. Also, prolonged bedrest can lead to even more pain, as it can lead to contractures and muscle tension. You may return to your normal activities as you can tolerate, and make sure you are not pushing yourself beyond your limits. Increase your activities gradually. Ask for help in performing physical activities from your family.
The attainment of pain relief will surely seem a long way from where you are now, but getting there quickly will most likely afford you none. Surgery, seen by most as a sure-fire way of getting rid of pain quickly, is not a solution worth spending a fortune for. Surgery is useless for acute back pain. Unless you are in a medical emergency, such as cauda equina syndrome in which spinal disc material expands into the spine and causes nerve compression, surgery is out of the question. Again, patience coupled with a dedication to your pain relief regimen will help you live with pain and conduct a normal life without having to give up your usual activities.
Pain Management Doctors Tampa Pinellas 727 548-1111
How To Make Pain Management Doctor Run - Part I
Pain Management Pinellas/Tampa, our office knows a lot of things, seeing a doctor is the most stressful time of the day. We went to our dentist because we had to, we don’t get up in the morning and say: “I have fun letting stranger poke metal in my mouth”. Seeing a pain doctor is the same thing. We don’t know whether the doctor has a good day or not.
So here are a few tips to make your doctor running from you.
1. BAD MOUTH
You want to build a good relationship with the doctor and the medical assistants. The medical assistant can say positive things about you which give you points toward your behavior. Everybody can have a bad day, just don’t cary it to the office. We want to give you utmost care and fast services at our facility.
2. CLEANLINESS
On average, the doctor sees about twenty to thirty patients a day. One way to stand out from the crowd is to come in smell badly. That will make your doctor really wants to run from you. Please take a good twenty minute shower before your doctor appointment.
3. CONTINUOUS TALKING
My mother tells me that I can tell a story in two minutes, after that nothing is more important. Practice this at home, see how do you repeat yourself after two minutes. Your doctor needs to know your conditions, but tell her/him in two minutes, and give your doctor time to think. Your doctor will want to run from you, if you keep repeating yourself, there are enough time in two to five minutes, to tell a life story.
4. KNOW YOUR DAILY INTAKE
Be prepared, be prepared. That is the most simple advice, we can give you. You will be asked how many pills do you take a day. You should be able answer it correctly and fast. Please do not use “new” math. Doctor sees twenty four patients a day and five days a week. That is a hundred twenty patients a week. Doctor knows when you are not telling the truth.
Avoid this common mistakes, dress up and come see us.
These are some common sense advices, you can visit us at painmanagementdoctorstampa or cal (727) 548-1111 Pain management in Pinellas /Tampa
Latest Technologies in Pain Management
Pain Management Doctors Tampa researches new technology helping patients.
Physical pain is a reality of life. Pain is a warning sign for us to pay attention to something will happen next. Pain management promotes you to be the manager of your body functions. The latest technology is spinal cord stimulation (SCS). How does this technology work? Does it have any connections with the popular government Stimulus program? Visit the office at www.painmanagementdoctorstampa.com and we can discuss it more.
Pain is always an unpleasant sensory experience. It is called the fifth vital sign. For health care workers, it should mean that pain assessment should be as automatic and as routine as taking a patient’s blood pressure.
There are countless conditions that cause intractable pain. Cancer, physical trauma, arthritis, HIV, and surgery cause pain so great as to warrant management that extends beyond hospital confinement.
A lot of treatment options are now at the disposal of every patient. Depending on the person’s pain threshold and the extent of tissue damage or progression of disease, a single modality or a combination of modalities may be used to counter the pain.
PHARMACOLOGIC INTERVENTION
Pain medications have proven successful in providing analgesia. Still, medications are not without side effects. Typical pain meds are classified as:
• NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) e.g. Ibuprofen - these drugs ease inflammation by inhibiting prostaglandin synthesis. Prostaglandins are responsible for the production of pain sensation
• Narcotic analgesics e.g. morphine - these types of drugs reduce stimuli from sensory nerve endings and increases pain threshold
• Anticonvulsants, anti-depressants - used when opioids are ineffective
• PCA (Patient-controlled analgesia) – uses an electronically-controlled pump to deliver safe and pre-determined amounts of infusions. At times of breakthrough pain or when the patient experiences a spike in pain sensation, the patient may self-administer an extra infusion.
PSYCHOLOGIC MEASURES
A number of measures aimed at targeting the mind to deal and live with pain:
• Relaxation
• Biofeedback
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy
• Hypnosis
• Group therapy
• Behavioral therapy
• Individual therapy
• Guided imagery
CUTANEOUS STIMULATION
It is simply stimulation of the skin. The stimulation of skin that produces non-painful stimuli can block the transmission of pain. Several measures are:
• Massages
• Heat and cold application
• TENS (Trans-cutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) - application of electrodes to the skin that produce a pleasant tingling or vibrating sensation
ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES
Alternative therapies abound and have actually been around for very long, accounting for the large number of its followers. These therapies’ efficacy lies in its thrust towards stress reduction. Some of these therapies include:
• Acupuncture/ Acupressure
• Aromatherapy
• Homeopathy
• Music therapy
• Magnetic therapy, etc.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
Here come the new technology, that we save for last. Spinal Cord Stimulation, or SCS, is a relatively new treatment option that has been proven to be successful in providing pain relief for chronic back pain sufferers.
Its concept is much like in TENS, as a surgically-implanted device delivers an unpleasant tingling sensation that blocks off pain. Before it is implemented, the patient undergoes a trial period in which a device is implanted for 24 hours or more in order to determine if the patient actually receives pain relief. Also, this option is not for everybody. Patients who have existing pacemakers are not allowed to become candidates for spinal cord stimulation. Patients with pre-existing medical conditions also need to consult with their specialist if they can be ready candidates.
Whatever modality the patient chooses, it is always best to consult with the doctor in order to determine the best, most cost-effective and convenient method for the patient. Self-education will also help one in understanding a patient’s own pain response and threshold. A patient can always be in constant collaboration with his physician, but it is doubly important that the patient knows what triggers his pain and what relieves it in order to trample it over. Please give us a call (727) 548-1111 for your pain relief.