Exploring Non-Surgical Options for Back Pain Relief

August 24, 2010
by: Stephanie Burke

While you consider treatments to manage your condition and back pain, it is important to understand the full range of options. Each of the numerous non-surgical treatment options for back pain has many variations. For example, there are many approaches to physical therapy and exercise, some of which may provide more benefits for you, cause less back pain, or which you may simply like better. You may need to try several types of treatments, or combination of treatments to find what works best for you. For more information see Conservative Care vs Surgical Care for Lower Back Pain.

Don't forget the simple things

Sometimes a few simple changes can make a big difference. Ice application, heat therapy and/or moist heat are easy to do and may provide substantial back pain relief (e.g. during a bout of severe pain, following spine surgery, following pain caused by certain activities). Over time, regular stretching exercises and activity modification can also help prevent bouts of pain, and may be learned with the help of your doctor or therapist. For more information see Ice Massage Therapy for Back Pain Relief and Passive Therapy: Passive PT (Modalities) for Back Pain.

Consider coordinated, multi-specialty care

Integrated spine clinics may include physiatrists, chiropractors, pain specialists, physical therapists, as well as surgeons. The theory with this approach is that diagnosis/treatment of spinal disorders is often complex and may require expertise across a range of specialists, and that enhanced communication between different specialists in one clinic will lead to better quality of care. To learn more, read The Integrated Approach for Back Pain Treatment.

Know when to consider spine surgery

Sometimes the road to pain relief does include surgery. However, it's difficult to know if this is the case for you. Even though the prospect of spine surgery can be daunting, if you are in a lot of pain, we encourage you to understand your surgical, as well as non-surgical treatment options. For more information see Back Surgery and Neck Surgery and When to See a Surgeon for Lower Back Pain.

Becoming educated about your condition and the treatment options available is one of the most important things you can do for yourself as part of the process of alleviating your back pain.