A Deep Dive into Low Back Pain
What is Low Back Pain?
Back pain is the most common pain condition in our society. About 80% of adults have experienced it at some point in their life. An injury from a car accident, sports-related trauma or lifting may initiate back pain. Daily bad posture and body mechanics can do the same, as can a poor level of fitness. This leads to weakness and dysfunction of the supporting muscles, ligaments and joints. Instability develops, making the spine less able to withstand the stress of daily activities. This can also lead to degeneration of the spinal discs and compression of the existing nerves called spinal stenosis.
How do we treat Low Back Pain?
Our Integrative Advantage utilizes a team approach to decrease low back pain and improve overall function. This treatment will be tailored to the patients’ specific needs and the main cause for their symptoms. Treatment options will generally include the following;
Nerve Hydrodissection is a nonsurgical injection technique used to free up inflamed and injured nerves. The word hydrodissection comes from two words: “hydro” fluid and “dissect” to open up or separate. Even slight compression of the nerves can cause them to swell and function abnormally.
Caudal Epidural with Dextrose or Platelet Lysate – A caudal epidural is an injection into the sacral and spinal epidural space delivered safely through a small opening in the tailbone. Injections around inflamed nerves can quickly turn off inflammation and allow for proper nerve function. This provides an opportunity for the nerves to heal.
Spinal PRP – When patients have significant arthritis, ligament laxity or muscle atrophy we can perform a spinal PRP treatment. The treatment includes precise image guided injections of Platelet Rich Plasma to the affected spinal structures. These include the ligaments and muscles that support the spine, the facet joints that allow the spine to move, and epidural injections to decrease the swelling and inflammation of the spinal nerves.
Energy Modalities – Low level laser therapy uses light energy at specific wavelengths to stimulate tissue healing, nerve regeneration, reduction of inflammation and reduction of pain. PEMF uses low intensity electromagnetic waves that are pulsed at the earth’s natural frequencies to increase cellular energy, stimulate bone growth, improve tissue healing, and stimulate nerve regeneration.
Physical Therapy is crucial to improve strength and stability of the spine and to correct postural and biomechanical dysfunctions that can exacerbate patient’s pain. We have in house physical therapists that have been trained on our regenerative medicine protocols for improved patient outcomes.
Acupuncture – Acupuncture is a 3,000-year-old healing technique from Traditional Chinese Medicine. Acupuncture improves the body’s functions and promotes natural self-healing through the stimulation of specific anatomic sites know as acupuncture points. Acupuncture has been shown to be a safe and effective treatment for chronic low back pain