1. What is chronic low back pain?
2. What causes it?
3. What can I do about it?

WHAT IS CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN?

Chronic Low Back Pain is the most frequent reason people seek medical attention from a pain specialist. For some, back pain can be annoying and occur intermittently once or twice a year with very little impact on their daily life. For others, it can be both constant and severe, resulting in significant disability and reduced quality of life. Usually back pain develops following a lifting or twisting injury, or the pain or discomfort may develop slowly over time, without obvious injury. The pain is referred to as chronic when it has lasted beyond six months, the time during which normal healing usually occurs following an acute injury.

People with chronic low back pain describe it in a variety of ways including a sensation of pressure, burning, aching, and /or electrical or shocking sensations located in their lower back, buttocks or legs. Most symptoms seem to get worse with activity, which ultimately leads the back pain sufferer to become inactive. Many people with low back pain become afraid of activity because they are concerned that they will cause further harm or re-injury of their backs. Unfortunately, over time, reduced activity in itself may cause the back pain to worsen as muscles weaken or atrophy and joints become less flexible.

WHAT CAUSES CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN?

There are many reasons for chronic low back pain. Even though the pain may have started following a specific injury, there are many structures in the back and spine that can be your source of pain. Your back is made up of muscles, other soft tissues like tendons and fascia, vertebrae, discs in between the vertebrae, spinal joints, nerve roots exiting the spine, and in some cases, scar tissue. Your back pain may be the result of damage to any or all of these structures. Your pain may have begun with damage to only one structure, but over time or treatment other structures may become involved.

WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT IT?

The physicians at Alpha Omega Pain Medicine Associates use numerous tools to help assess and treat the most likely cause of your back pain. We begin with a thorough pain and medical history and physical examination. Occasionally special testing including x-rays, MRI's, CAT Scans, EMG's, nerve conduction tests and anesthetic blocks are recommended to determine the specific cause of pain.

With an accurate diagnosis, important decisions are made regarding the need for surgical treatment of your pain or other, more conservative treatments that may have equal positive effects. Unfortunately, many patients are left with chronic back pain despite the best of treatment. For patients where cure is not an option, we can offer the best management available.

An individualized treatment plan is developed with major emphasis placed on increasing your ability to perform normal daily activities as well as helping you with managing the pain you are experiencing. Our ultimate goal is to provide the tools for you to avoid future damage or halt or reverse the downward spiral many patients experience in daily functioning without intervention.

Our HELP programs integrate medical, psychological, rehabilitation and vocational treatments to optimize the quality of life for patients with chronic pain. While others may say there is nothing that can be done or you just have to learn to live with it, at HELP we teach you how to manage your pain.