Many people experience back pain with varying severity and time, but most back pain goes away quickly with home treatment, especially for younger people. Older people may experience back pain for more prolonged periods, typically over a few months. Your pain management doctor may recommend and perform one or more management and treatment methods. Some of these are:

Physical Therapy

Doctors may recommend physical therapy for mild or severe cases where emergency intervention is unnecessary. Physical therapy is also used for people with chronic physical conditions such as bad posture. Therapists help patients improve flexibility, mobility, posture, and structural strength. Regular therapy sessions help alleviate, cure and prevent the occurrence of pain. Simple exercises may suffice for many, but you should have a trained pain management therapist to help you.

Medications

Pain medications are common; some are sold over the counter (OTC) and often abused, leading to dependence and other health issues. There are different pain medications, including pain relievers (topical and oral), muscle stimulants and relaxants, antidepressants, and clinically-administered narcotics.

It is essential only to use pain medications prescribed by your pain doctor, especially for specific cases where OTC medications are ineffective. Your doctor will prescribe the best medicines based on diagnosis to help you achieve the best result.

Other methods

Your doctor may recommend other methods, such as nerve and muscular stimulators which are implanted just under the skin. These stimulants use electric impulses to stimulate nerve pain, blocking and relaxing muscles. A similar method is implanting a needle close to the pain source and stimulating relief by delivering radio waves to damage the nerves transmitting pain there.

Surgery

Surgery is often a final attempt at treating pain but may be the first recommendation in some instances. Your pain management doctor may recommend surgery for spinal deformity, fracture, compression, tumor, and trauma. Surgery may not immediately remove the pain but should correct or minimize the root cause to allow healing. Spinal infection is another reason for surgery.

Different types and levels of back pain require different methods. Two patients may have back pain arising from herniated discs, but one might require surgery, why the other won’t always discuss all options with your doctor for advice.