It would be difficult to find anyone over the age of 30 who hasn’t experienced back pain in one form or another. For most people, it isn’t a matter of “whether” they have had back pain; it is a matter of “when” they will have it. The problem is that as it involves the literal backbone of the human body, tackling back pain is never an easy thing to do. Searching for a magic cure isn’t an easy endeavor.
That can leave many people with injury-induced back pain going from one ineffectual treatment to the next, trying to find relief. This can be a dangerous path and can lead someone to have surgical procedures that don’t help and can sometimes exacerbate the problem. That can in turn lead to a lifetime of relying on pills just to get through the day. Many people with back injuries can spend years of their lives searching for a cure for what ails them. That can translate into millions of dollars, countless hours, and immeasurable pain and suffering.
If you are are dealing with back pain sustained during an accident, there are ways that some doctors might take advantage of the situation and offer you procedures that you don’t need — procedures that could end up hurting you. If you notice any of these signs, it is best to get a second opinion. Before you start on the cycle of pain, these are the best precautions to take.
Surgery should be your last option
If you go to a surgeon and they want to do a procedure immediately without suggesting other things first, that might be a warning sign. Generally, surgical procedures should be your last resort for a back injury. With lengthy recovery times followed by physical therapy, surgery isn’t the best place to start if you haven’t tried other ways to help your back pain. Although many surgeons say that back surgery is “minimally invasive,” that only relates to the surface of your skin. What is done microscopically is the same internally as something extremely invasive, which means that it is still major.
Chiropractors can help, but they shouldn’t become the cure
Often chiropractors can really help with back pain and are a very good option for someone with a back injury. The problem is that they aren’t a magic cure all by themselves. If you have an injury, then the damage isn’t just to your skeletal system (which is what a chiropractor targets); there is usually additional damage to the soft tissue and muscles in the back.
Those things need further help from a physical therapist or trainer. It is okay to get your back into alignment, but if you don’t strengthen the muscles around the spine, then it is going to continue to misalign, which can mean more visits to the chiropractor. Typically, if you sustain a back injury, the cure is going to be multiple forms of treatment.
Pharmaceutical companies are not your friend
The first course of treatment is likely going to be painkillers to numb the pain, but those are a short-term fix — or at least they are supposed to be. The reason there is such a rise in opioid use is that doctors who were out of other options prescribed pills to keep their patients going.
However, many doctors have made it a long-term solution that isn’t really a good one. It isn’t that painkillers won’t help and aren’t needed; it is just that they should only be part of the therapy and not a crutch. If you take painkillers for too long, opioid-induced hyperalgesia, or the brain generating pain outside of the injury, is likely to surface. In the end, the painkillers might actually end up being your biggest source of pain.
When you have a back injury, it can be a lifelong struggle with pain, even if you do all the right things. Fixing a back injury is never an easy or one-step process. Often, it takes a combination of treatment options to find the right “fit” to fix you. The best place to start with a back injury is to consult Irvine personal injury lawyers to ensure that you will have the resources to find the avenues that will bring you relief, and to make sure you aren’t left without the money to pay for treatment options and procedures that will help.
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