If you are spending too much of your day thinking and talking about your back pain, not to mention suffering with it, it may be time to drastically change your approach. This may be the moment to look to physicians who focus their attention not on surgery, but on pain management and restoration of function.
The doctors at Long Island Spine Rehabilitation Medicine — trained as specialists in physiatry — do precisely that. We offer a wide variety of treatments and therapies, both traditional and complementary, including:
- Acupuncture
- Platelet-rich plasma (PRP)
- Physical therapy
- Ultrasound-guided injections of a corticosteroid and analgesics
- PEMF (Pulsed Electromagnetic Field) therapy
Our physiatrists will decide, with your input, which treatment (alone or in combination), will give you the best chance of success.
Contact L.I. Spine Rehabilitation Medicine for Nonsurgical Treatment Options
For many people, a twinge or ache in the lower back can be the beginning of chronic back pain, limiting daily activities as well as making them more uncomfortable. While some patients, depending on the diagnosis they receive, rush to have a surgical procedure which is not always a wise choice since most back problems can be healed with much less invasive treatments.
Other patients with low back pain use denial as a default response to their back pain, insisting that nothing can be done and that they must martyr themselves to their own misery. This approach is obviously self-defeating. By contacting one of our conveniently located offices, you will be delighted to find a broad range of reasonable, cost-effective alternatives to living with the burden of back pain.
What to Avoid When You Have Low Back Pain
Sometimes what you don’t do is as important as what you do. While you are experiencing low back pain you SHOULD NOT:
- Slouch
Even if it feels momentarily comfortable, slouching puts excessive pressure on your joints, muscles, and discs, resulting in increased pain. Sitting with correct posture, on the other hand, whether at the kitchen table, on the living room sofa, or at the office, will help to alleviate or even eliminate your low back pain.
- Exercise without consultation
Although it is extremely important to do proper stretches and other exercises that will strengthen your core, it is equally important not to strain an already weakened area. We will provide informed counsel about which exercises will be most beneficial (and least harmful) in your particular case. Since we are excellent diagnosticians, we will be able to advise you with a good deal of confidence.
- Be pulled in by flim-flam artists
The fact that these days quackery is practiced not in a wagon at the side of the road but in printed ads, on television, and across the internet does not make it any less distracting or dangerous. Believing in a magic pill, lotion, electronic device, or antigravity devices will not only waste your time and money but will keep you from beginning effective treatment.
- Perform tasks that worsen the pain
Humans are stubborn creatures and too many of us, even though aware that bending and lifting heavy objects may lead to terrible spasms of back pain, often insist that we do not need help when performing ordinary tasks. Resisting the temptation to grandstand and pretend you don’t need a helping hand or an assistive device to pick up a plastic cup or lift the vacuum may, in the end, keep you from worsening your own pain.
- Self-diagnose or allow just anyone to diagnose you
During coffee breaks and other gatherings, words like “sciatica,” “slipped disc,” “stenosis,” and “pinched nerve” are thrown around loosely, as are recommended cures for these common ailments. But making medical decisions based on stray remarks and well-intentioned advice from friends and acquaintances is foolish. Instead, consult with one of our experienced doctors, get properly diagnosed, and discuss the advantages of various therapeutic methods before committing to a course of treatment.
Contact Our Experienced Spine Consultants to Relieve Your Back Pain
Instead of doggedly insisting that there is nothing that can be done to help your low back pain or grasping at straws that only prolong the agony, why not come into one of our offices to discuss options proven to be effective. Our only goal is to make you feel better and we are eager to get started. Get in touch with our team today.