Spinal pain is a common problem worldwide and one of the leading causes for impairment in adults. Mechanical pain is a term for chronic spinal pain that does not involve neurological disorders, myelopathy or any other obvious causes. Spinal pain can come from any part your body. For treatment, one should immediately see Spine Specialists in Redondo Beach.
These are the types of spinal pain that can be treated:
- There are three types of spinal pain: myelopathy, degenerative changes and structural. Multiple causes can lead to degenerative changes, including injury, trauma, and spinal trauma.
- Myelopathic pain, on the other hand can be caused by inflammation, trauma, or infections. Degenerative changes can also be the result of local trauma, or a general dysfunction of the body. "Age-related" spinal pain refers to spinal degenerative changes that can occur due to aging, spinal injuries and local infection.
- Myelopathic spine pain can also be caused by myelodysplasia. This is a condition in which the abnormal formation of vertebrae occurs within the lumbar muscles. This condition is common in children. It can cause low back pain, as well as shoulder impingement, weak grip strength, and numbness.
- Signs of degenerative and herniated spinal discs can indicate structural spinal pain. These can be treated with medication or physical therapy. Disc symptoms can include herniated intervertebral disks, nucleus pulposus and nucleus accumbens. These symptoms can all be treated with pain relief, steroids, interventional procedures and manual traction. Rarely, degenerative spinal disc diseases may affect the nucleus pulposus or nucleus accumbens. These conditions need to be treated with the right medications and treatment methods.
Treatments:
- For the non-narcotic treatment and stimulation of nerves, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication can be used. When injection therapies are used in conjunction with other conservative treatments, they can be very effective.
- These include exercise, natural supplements, or physical therapy. Physical therapy reduces pain and supplements increase the immune system to provide pain relief. When used with physical therapy, natural supplements like glucosamine can be effective in treating spinal pain due to arthritis, degenerative disc disease or spinal stenosis. Anti-inflammatory medications can be very effective in relieving spinal pain from osteoarthritis when used with steroid injections.
- If spinal pain is not manageable with medication, then surgery may be necessary. To treat spinal pain, a surgeon will break a vertebra to reach the facet joints.
- Some of the soft tissue surrounding the vertebrae is also removed. After the vertebrae are broken, the surrounding tissues can be smoothed using metal screws or other surgical tools.
- Patients will experience less pain after surgery than before. However, scarring from surgery is not common. This surgery is safe and effective in relieving pain. Patients should make sure they can walk again after the procedure.