Diamond Author
Back pain affects 90% of Americans at some point in life. The vast majority of it, 90%, will resolve within 6-12 weeks no matter the treatment. What about the other 10%?
If the back pain is emanating from facet arthritis, also called facet syndrome, the pain can be chronic and disabling. It can wax and wane or remain present like a pebble in a person's shoe. The tough thing about arthritis is that no treatment exists which can reverse the pathology. One can only hope to try and contain it with pain relief options that alleviate the symptoms.
Treatment options include:
- Activity Modification
- Physical therapy
- Chiropractic treatment
- Physiotherapy
- Acupuncture
- Spinal decompression
- NSAIDS
- Narcotic Medications
- Bracing
- TENS Units
- Interventional Pain Management
Activity Modification refers to basically not doing those kinds of activities that cause the pain. If golfing truly aggravates the back pain then the treatment is to cut back on golfing. Not ideal, but it is better than surgery most of the time. This is the same type of treatment utilized for hip and knee arthritis in order to prevent surgery as well.
Physical therapy involves strengthening the spinal musculature around the arthritic facet joints in order to try and take pressure off of those joints and achieve back pain relief. This involves core strengthening and lumbar stabilization along with spinal stretching.
Chiropractic treatment can alleviate pain with spinal manipulation and physiotherapy involving interferential treatment, ice, heat, ultrasound, and electrical stimulation.
Acupuncture has been shown to be effective in back pain including facet arthritis and back strains and sprains.
Spinal Decompression Therapy is a revolutionary treatment that has been shown to assist tremendously with the pain of facet arthritis. Decompression Treatment is low risk, highly effective, and low cost compared to spinal surgery.
Medications including NSAIDS, Aspirin, and potentially narcotics can help with facet syndrome pain. Making sure to keep dosages within manufacturer's recommendations can protect one's kidneys and GI tract. Narcotics are best for short term to prevent the risk of addiction or liver issues.
Bracing can help with pain and so can TENS units for pain relief, although research is equivocal in their efficacy.
Interventional pain management includes treatments such as facet injections (facet blocks), medial branch blocks, and radiofrequency ablation. In conjunction with other treatments such as physical therapy, chiropractic, spinal decompression, acupuncture, etc, comprehensive pain management with interventional treatments can alleviate pain substantially.
All in all there are multiple pain management options for facet arthritis which can help prevent surgery and increase quality of life. Proper pain management can allow patients to work better, play with their kids, play sports, and simply enjoy life!
About this Author
David L. Greene, MD is CEO of Preferred Pain Center in Phoenix, Arizona which serves the Phoenix and Scottsdale Az metropolitan and surrounding areas. He can be reached at dgreene@preferredpaincenter.com and (602) 507-6550.
Preferred Pain Center is a Comprehensive Pain Center including Medical and Interventional Pain Management, Chiropractic, Physical Therapy, Spinal Decompression Therapy, Naturopathic Medicine, and Manipulation Under Anesthesia. The website is http://www.preferredpaincenter.com and the Blog of Pain is http://blog.preferredpaincenter.com
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