Treatment options for pain management, particularly for back pain, include surgery, exercise, behavioral therapy, medications, procedures such as spinal injections and non-traditional methods such as acupuncture. However, since back pain is a complicated issue, patients infrequently obtain the desired results from their treatment.
James Weinstein, professor of the evaluative clinical sciences and orthopedic surgery at Dartmouth Medical School, who has conducted multiple studies of back surgery, says pain physicians must be very clear about post-treatment expectations with patients. “They want relief from pain. And I don’t know that you can guarantee that any patient will get rid of pain through surgery,” he said.
Similarly, procedures such as spinal cord injections and radio frequency lesioning show some promise in helping to alleviate patients’ back pain. However, the effects can potentially wear off, forcing patients to see their physician for repeated procedures, according to the news report.
Read the news report about the complexity of back pain.
Read other coverage about pain management:
– Improvements in Pain Intensity, Relief and Physical Function Impact Treatment Satisfaction
– Pre-Injury Fear Contributes to Immediate Pain Intensity
– 36 Pain Descriptors Can Be Used to Efficiently Describe Pain
