Be the perfect patient? This is an important step to making the most of your doctor’s visit as being face to face with your doctor is often the best time to ask medical questions. Your questions may be related to your diagnosis, treatment or personal preferences. Be proactive and don’t limit your questions to the reason that sent you to the doctor initially (however don’t bombard your doctor with questions either). Seeing a doctor is about continued health, not just curing the ailment at hand. A good practice is to ask your doctor what health-related items you could work on before your next visit. It could be a simple diet change, a challenge to exercise more or a more general piece of advice, such as stress less. Either way, when you’re face-to-face with a medical professional that has access to your personal health history, what better question could you ask about continued health?
The most common cause of back pain ? Injury to a muscle, or a strain, is the most common cause of back pain. It is also commonly referred to as a pulled muscle. In these cases, muscle or a tissue connecting muscle to the bone called a tendon stretches or tears. In most cases, these afflictions affect the lower back, but they can occur in other areas of the back, as well. Symptoms typically include pain, swelling, possible muscle spasms and limited mobility of the affected muscle or tissue. In most cases, a pulled muscle resolves itself within days to weeks. Treatments include home remedies such as over-the-counter pain relievers, ice, heat application, rest or splinting.
Those who enter into a SI joint rehabilitation program can usually return to running with minor modifications. The more severe the case is, the more modifications will have to be made and longer rest period a physician may recommend. Many runners can return to running immediately by making modifications, but others with more severe pain may need to rest and rehabilitate for a while. In the latter case, it’s important that athletes take time to recover so they aren’t doing permanent damage to their body. Usually, a rehabilitation protocol and possible intervention to treat underlying cause (biomechanics, physical attributes, muscle problems) will result in complete recovery and zero residual pain. Surgical intervention offers similar results for more severe cases. With minimally-invasive Sacroiliac Joint Fusion procedures, doctors have reported less post-surgical bleeding and bruising as well as a shorter operating time. Find extra info on Si Joint Surgery.
Southern California neck pain sufferers — Eliminate neck pain with Anterior Cervical Discectomy Fusion surgery! The cervical spine is made up of seven bones or vertebrae stacked one on top of another forming the neck. In between the vertebrae are cushions called disks. These act as shock absorbers so when they deteriorate with age, the neck can become painful and hard to move. Loss of mobility with cervical disk degeneration is common. Because the upper part of the spinal cord passes through the cervical spine, the vertebrae or cervical disk can press on it when the opening becomes too narrow. Sometimes, the body reacts to a disrupted disk by forming bone spurs, which can also put pressure on the spinal nerves, causing pain. Pushing against the spinal nerves leads to pain, numbness and sometimes weakness in the neck and extremities. When nonsurgical treatments do not provide relief, surgery is often recommended. Anterior Cervical Disectomy Fusion, or ACDF, treats nerve root or spinal cord compression through spinal cord and nerve root decompression for those who suffer from back pain in Southern California. The goal is to stabilize the surrounding vertebrae where the disk has deteriorated. In most cases, a nerve root becomes inflamed because the disk has herniated allowing the jelly-like center of the disc to bulge through and put pressure on the nerve root or because the disc has degenerated and the cushion is no longer there to protect it.
In some cases, surgery can be performed to reduce or eliminate SI joint pain. The two most common surgical approaches are SI joint stabilization and joint fusion, both of which are typically done after other therapies have failed. For the latter, minimally invasive Sacroiliac Joint Fusion systems has shown positive results in treating SI joint dysfunction. Individualized rehabilitation programs aim to treat the underlying cause of SI joint pain. By treating the underlying cause, the pain should subside and the runner can return to their routine with little modification. Sometimes bracing will be needed while a person heals. In cases where pain is severe, pain medication or steroid injections may be recommended to keep pain under control while the person rehabilitates, and when the dysfunction is very severe, surgical intervention may be required to eliminate pain and treat dysfunction and its underlying causes.
Long Beach Spine Surgeon, Dr. Yuan, uses surgical and non-surgical treatments to relieve chronic pain in the neck and back. Learn more about the top 5 causes of back pain. Dr. Philip Yuan is a board certified Orthopedic Surgeon and fellowship trained spinal surgeon who emphasizes non-surgical treatment first and only recommends surgical procedures when absolutely necessary to better a patient’s quality of life. Find more details at Long Beach spine surgery.