There are plenty of treatments that can be chosen, at a number of different costs, and they all give you the same results. That makes it vital that the chronic low back pain treatments have some guidelines behind them.

The American Pain Society and the American College of Physicians have worked together and released a set of guidelines that is complete, and tells the doctor what to do for patients that have chronic low back pain.

One necessary thing is stating the cause of the back pain and putting it in the exact category where it’s located, like back pain caused by a congenital condition like scoliosis, or pain caused by mechanical reasons, such as nerve roots, facet joints, disc, traverse process, spinous process or vertebra.

Some other types include tumours, infections and diseases that are not caused by injuries.

Something else that these new guidelines state is that X-rays should have a clear statement of the criteria behind their use before they’re done on a patient. According to the guidelines, the type of the back pain that the patient suffers from should be specified, as well as the causes behind it.

Also, the chronic low back pain treatment rules say that the types of medicine prescribed need to be specified, together with the course of treatment chosen for each patient, according to the back pain nature.

Whatever type of treatment is chosen, whether it’s massage, alternative, prescription, physical therapy or prescription, it should be chosen based on the causes of each back pain and symptoms.

If doctors will use the guidelines for chronic low back pain treatment as they are intended, chances for a treatment that is successful from its early stages are increased. Another excellent side effect will be that people will go through a smaller number of treatments until they are cured.

Also, it will cost much less to heal a patient with low back pain treatment, if these guidelines will be respected. Since healthcare costs increase every year, these guidelines will insure a much needed relief for authorities and patients.

There are several methods of treating your chronic pain, from over the counter and prescription medications, to acupuncture and other more natural methods of pain management. It’s vital to realize, but, that no single method of pain management should be expected to be your cure-all.

It’s smart to adopt a combination of different methods to effectively treat your chronic pain. If you have mild to moderate pain, this can usually be relieved with over the counter drugs. There are also a wide variety of topical creams that you can use that can be easily applied on your skin, which will help relieve your pain, from arthritis to common muscle cramps.

These are a excellent option for some people who don’t like to take pills. The creams are said to work very well. There are no side effects such as diarrhea or upset stomach because you do not ingest the topical creams. They may not be as strong as the pills but in some cases such as arthritis it can help reduce the pain significantly.

Capsaicin is one of them; the way it works is that the cream is set to block the pain that is in transit to a substance called substance P to the brain.

Capsaicin is also found naturally in hot peppers, which are said to help with some pain. Other forms of topical creams are brands like Camphor that contain menthol and eucalyptus, both of which are fantastic for aches and pains of the body and can be found in such products as Icy Hot. Other products you may have seen in the drug store are Ben Gay, Flexall and Aspercreme. These are excellent for mild-to-moderate pain but they don’t work on severe pain. If you don’t have any luck relieving your pain with over the counter medications or creams, consult your doctor.

He’ll be able to advise and prescribe stronger pain relieving drugs. Drugs like Hydrocodone and Oxycontin are very excellent at relieving pain, but can sometimes lead to addiction. Patients take more and more, since the effect dwindles over-time.

Your doctor may also recommend physical therapy, especially if your chronic pain is injury related. Physical therapists can manage a lot of pain related ailments, such as chronic neck and back pain, spine and joint problems, sporting related injuries, and more. If prescription medication and physical therapy are ineffective in treating your chronic pain, you may need surgery or in severe cases surgical implants that constantly deliver your body pain medication.

Many people and doctors believe that drugs and medicines are the answer to easing or managing your pain. But many herbalists believe that you don’t need medications to help with the pain. They believe that alternate methods like acupuncture may be able to help. Acupuncture is fantastic for people who are under a lot of stress and after they have a treatment they swear by it.

The needles may throw you off because it looks like it hurts but they are trained professionals and they know how to insert the pins as not to hurt you.

Here’s 3 simple ways you start managing your chronic pain now:

1. Consume plenty of Vitamin D. Studies have shown that Vitamin D helps build stronger bones and muscles and help with chronic pain.

2. Get excellent nights sleep each and every night. The body heals itself during our sleep, and not getting enough excellent sleep can bother painful conditions.

3. Eat a healthy and balanced diet. Avoid foods with sugars and terrible carbs, these kinds of foods cause inflammation and pain.

Interventional Pain Management: Approach to Chronic Pain

Pain treatment starts with an assessment of the severity of the pain. Commonly, the first steps of treatment are rest, application of cold or heat and intake of OTC (over the counter) medication. The next step in the treatment of pain is a combination of physical therapy and prescribed pain medication. It is vital to note that sometimes, interventional pain management needs to be started prior to Physical Therapy in order to stop acute pain (i.e. acute radiculopathy) and allow the patient to comply with necessary exercise. If prescribed pain medication and physical therapy don’t work, the next step is usually interventional pain management, unless the patient has acute loss of function or acute neurological deficit (in which case surgery is needed. But, even after surgery interventional pain management has a very vital role in the treatment of patients, especially when all other options are exhausted (eg. “failed back surgery” syndrome).
The Specialty of “Pain Management” has progressed significantly in the last 20 years through a better understanding of anatomy and physiology, and through advances in pharmacology and technology.
The goals of interventional pain management are to relieve, reduce, or manage pain and improve a patient’s overall quality of life through minimally invasive techniques specifically designed to diagnose and treat painful conditions. Interventional pain management also strives to help patients return to their everyday activities quickly and without heavy reliance on medications. Often other treatments are include such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and lifestyle modification (such as exercise, diet, and smoking cessation) to further enhance these procedures.
Before any treatments are started, we may perform diagnostic tests to rule out other conditions that may present similar symptoms. These tests may include x-rays, CT scan, MRI, and possibly blood tests.

Early Intervention:

Early interventional treatments in Pain Medicine have been found to return injured patients to work and regular activities more rapidly than past conservative therapies. Early treatment of inflamed injured tissues and articulations quickly resolves the insult, not allowing chronic inflammation with resultant joint and tissue destruction. Pain Medicine physicians are trained in diagnostic patient evaluations, including radiographic interpretations and diagnostic injections when indicated. Early intervention decreases unnecessary chronic pain, long-term treatments and disabilities.

Some facts about the Speciality

American society of Interventional pain physician
In USA, The Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a memo March 4, 2005, including Interventional Pain Management specialists on the list of clinical specialties to be included in carrier advisory committees.

Pain relief a human right – WHO (world health organization)
“Pain relief should be a human right, whether people are suffering from cancer, HIV/AIDS or any other painful condition,”

Study by International association for study of pain and European federation of IASP
One person in five suffers from moderate to serious chronic pain, and one in three are unable or only with difficulty able to lead an independent life .One in four sufferers say pain disrupts or destroys relations with family and friends.

American cancer society
30%-50% have pain at the time of diagnosis of cancer. 70% to 90% have severe pain when the disease is advanced.
40% die with severe pain. 60%-80% complains of inadequate pain relief by their physician.30% are not relieved by drug treatment alone, so require interventional pain management.
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• More than 90% cancer pain can be adequately controlled.

When we experience pain in any part of our bodies, it is usually an indication that something is incorrect. The intensity of pain can range from mild and occasional to severe and constant. A sudden and sharp pain is called acute pain. It may either be mild that lasts for a small while, or may be severe that lasts for weeks or even months. Acute pain usually disappears as soon as the underlying cause of pain is treated or healed. But, when acute pain persists, it may lead to chronic pain. Even when an injury has healed, chronic pain continues to remain active for weeks, or months, even years. While some chronic pain may have been caused by an initial trauma or infection, some people may suffer chronic pain in the absence of any past injury or illness.

For people suffering in pain problems, modern advances in medicine provide new methods for chronic pain relief. Over the years, chronic pain had been dismissed as something that is just “in the head”. But, modern technology has developed ways to know how the sensation of pain occurs. It has gained greater understanding of how the nervous system, including the spinal cord, interacts with the brain to make such sensation of pain.

New insights into the brain’s neurotransmitter system have paved the way for new techniques in chronic pain relief. Recently, scientists have learned ways how to maneuver those chemical messengers to change the way they interact with the brain.

This led to the use of antidepressants and other drugs as effective medication for chronic pain relief. Advances in MRI imaging have allowed researchers to clearly demonstrate how real the changes in the brain are. It exactly shows where the sensation of pain is occurring in the brain upon activation by a stimuli. The effects of pain on emotion can be seen, and vice versa.  

According to Dr. Kwai-Tung Chan, a pain specialist and professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, there’s a new understanding of a process called central sensitization. He said that if the initial pain from an injury is not adequately treated, those pain signals are sent repeatedly — which leads to changes in the central nervous system, making it more and more sensitive. Over time, even the gentlest touch can become very painful.

Pain specialists are banking on these new insights to prescribe new treatments that attack moderate-to-severe chronic pain from different angles: innovative drugs, targeted nerve-zapping procedures, and drug pumps that deliver strong painkillers to the nerve root. There is also a growing evidence that the use of psychotherapy, relaxation techniques and alternative methods can induce chronic pain relief through mind-body connection.

Research has done a fantastic deal in developing new treatment options in pain management. And there are more advances in the offing. But, people should realize that there are medical doctors who specialize in pain management. Most often, patients consult medical experts when in the later stages of chronic pain when it is already quite hard to treat. The earlier the condition is treated, the better chances for treatments to be effective.

Lower Back Pain Causes

Lower back pain is often caused by straining or overusing the muscles in your lower back. The reason these are the top two contributers to lower back pain is because the lower back supports and connects the upper and lower body. With that being said this muscular region needs to be strong. That is where core strength comes in. Many people make the mistake of thinking core strength is just about your abs or abdominal muscles. This unfortunately makes up for the front part of your core. The back needs to be equally strengthened

Lower back strengthening

Have you ever done sqauts, bench press, cleans, push press, leg press. These are all lifts that use your lower back. You might even be surprised now reading this because you may have not realized it at all. But if you are doing all of these lifts properly then your lower back muscles are certainly incorporated into these lifts. Don’t believe me try it right now, just stand up and do a squat. What did you feel you stick your chest out, you locked in your lower back, and you tighten your abs. Now don’t jump ahead of yourself and reckon that since you work your back everyday, then you don’t need to work your back muscles like you would your arms or your abs. That is also incorrect. The difference is when you do all of these other lifts you are using your back muscles or they are simply supporting your other muscles as they work out. In actuality your back muscles don’t really reap the benefits unless your are specifically working them.

Simple Lower Back Exercises

Supermans. These can be done a variety of ways with or without weight and for me personally I do them without weight and I weigh 250lbs. Lie flat on your belly arms out in front and legs out in back. Now raise your arms and feet off the ground about 6-12 inches at the same time. This should arch your back and the only thing on the ground should be your belly and upper thigh. Do this 8-12 times for three total sets. Super Dogs. Another superman variation. Get on all fours like your a dog. On your hands and knees. Then kick one leg out directly behind you and raise the opposite hand reaching directly out in front of you. Alternate hands and feet (right leg, left hand, left leg, right hand) do this a total of 20 times for three 3 sets. And end off your core work out with 3 sets of abs in the 10-15 rep range. Crunches are fine if they hurt your back try hanging leg raises. Lie flat on your back arms at your sides. Raise both feet with legs straight 10 inches off the ground and hold for 3 secs and release. Do three sets of 10. This core training workout is simply doesn’t require weights or much space. Takes about 5 minutes tops depending on your pace and rest intervals.

Lower Back Pain Symptoms Can be dull, burning or sharp pain Can be pinpointed to a location or broad area Can start gradually or sudden Can be with muscle spasms or stiffness Can cause leg pain, numbness Acute- Last less than 3 months goes away within 4-6 weeks of treatment Recurrent- Acute pain that returns Chronic- Pain close to 100% of the time

Self Help for Back Pain

If you are experiencing Acute Lower Back Pain started with a core training regimen consisting of 2 lower back exercises like super mans and super dogs combined with 2 different abdominal exercises crunches and leg raises. Do this routine 3 times a week and give it about 14 days. If after 14 days you see no difference then there are other things to take into consideration like the types of chairs you sit in, do you stand alot, the mattress you sleep on, the position you sleep in. And if you can’t pinpoint it make an appointment with a physician. 

Experience Back Pain Relief within days!