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There
are so many causes of back pain it’s a little
like saying somebody has “abdominal pain”.
Abdominal pain could be caused by problems of the
large intestine, stomach, gallbladder and so on. Each
cause is very different from the next. The point is
that the term “back pain’ is very non
specific and could mean any number of things, all
of which require different types of treatment. As
such it’s important that somebody who is experiences
back pain understand some of the different sources
of pain and get a distinct and reliable diagnosis
from a healthcare professional before exploring treatment.
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Step
1: Finding out What is Causing Your Back Pain. |
While
low back pain is very common, no two cases are
exactly identical. Muscle strains, disc herniations,
spinal arthritis, scoliosis, joint injuries and
even simple stress are some of the varied causes
of back pain. Each of these distinct causes requires
very different treatment approaches. This is why
the most important first step in treating back
pain is clearly defining the diagnosis
or source of the pain. This means performing
a complete history, physical examination and many
times imaging studies like X-Rays or MRIs. Our
office specializes in the advanced diagnosis of
back pain. We utilize the latest in techniques
and a battery of testing to identifying the source
of back pain, making the next phase of care that
more effective.
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| Step
2: Reviewing Your Options for Care. |
Once
our team has determined the source of your pain,
the next step is to review your options for care.
Our philosophy is that we want you to understand
all of your options for treatment not just those
that we offer. We sit down with each patient,
for often 45 minutes to and hour, and
review the results of their tests and what treatments
will work for best in their case. We feel the
quick five-minute approach to patient education
is a plan for failure. Unless patients clearly
understand the reasons for their pain and what
they should do about, they won’t truly partner
in the process of getting better. They will often
do things that sabotage their improvement and
loose motivation if the results are erratic. It’s
important to sit down with each patient and thoroughly
review their condition and what our recommends
are. If more than one specialty is called for,
the patient will often be seen in a group consultation
with several doctors and a therapist, each reviewing
some aspect of the proposed care. |
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| Step
3: Begin Your Treatment. |
Once
we have designed and reviewed your treatment program
the next step is to rid you of your pain as quickly
and safely as possible. This may involve the use
of medications, exercises, physical therapy, manipulation
or any number of tools at our disposal. This is
one of the advantages of having a number or different
independent specialties located within the same
facility. Each has a large arsenal of
weapons against back pain that often work even
better when used together. The result is that
our success rates in improving most types of back
pain are extraordinarily high.
One of our most innovative and effective treatment
programs for low back pain, especially disc injuries,
is our VAX-D program.
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