Back inflammation therapies
The common non-surgical treatment options are physical therapy/exercise, medication, spinal injections, chiropractic, and alternative medicine. Physical therapy combines passive modalities with therapeutic exercise to improve spine health. Examples of passive modalities that physical therapists administer to patients include:
• Heat/Cold Therapy: Helps to reduce inflammation, muscle spasm, and pain. • Ultrasound: This device is applied to the skin in a circular movement to transmit sound waves into underlying tissues. The sound waves create a deep heat that improves circulation while helping to relieve inflammation, muscle spasm, and pain. • Spinal Traction: Gentle force is applied to stretch and mobilize the spine to alleviate back pain and spasm. • Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS): A small electrical device delivers a painless current through skin patches. This current blocks pain signals to specific nerves. TENS can be used to relieve pain and improve mobility. • Massage: Therapists knead, rub, and stroke muscles. Various types of massage help to increase circulation and relieve muscle tension, spasms, inflammation, fluid retention, aches, stiffness, and pain. • Aquatic Therapy: This includes whirlpools, water spas, Roman tubs, common bathtubs, and swimming pools. Water temperature and movement is varied to help soothe and relax muscles.
• Stretching exercises to increase flexibility. NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory drugs) help to decrease inflammation and promote healing. COX-2 Inhibitors (a type of NSAID) may allow patients to take higher doses without the accompanying gastrointestinal side effects from conventional NSAIDs. Acetaminophen, an analgesic used exclusively for acute pain. It can be used alone or in combination with NSAIDs. Muscle relaxants are often prescribed for severe pain. Opioid narcotics are carefully prescribed for back pain due to their addictive nature. These drugs are not a first line of treatment, but may be used in refractory cases. For people who have inflammatory forms of arthritis that affect their back such as ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis, anti-TNF drugs such as etanercept (Enbrel), adalimumab (Humira), and infliximab (Remicade) may be required. Many of these medications, even OTC drugs can have serious side effects. Talk to your physician before taking any medications for back pain.
Spinal injections are often effective in relieving pain. Two common spinal injections are: Facet joint injections help to reduce inflammation and pain originating from one or more facet joints. These joints are located at the back of the spine and are important for movement.
Epidural steroid injections deliver pain relieving medications into the epidural space. The medicine spreads through the space, coating the nerve roots and the outside lining of the facet joints.
Spinal injections should not be used as the only remedy to relieve pain. Instead, spinal injections should be part of a treatment plan that includes other therapies such as physical therapy and therapeutic exercise. Talk to your doctor to see if spinal injections might be right for you. Chiropractic is a branch of medicine based on the understanding that good health depends, in part, on a healthy spine. Chiropractors also believe one of the main causes of pain and disease is the misalignment of the vertebrae in the spinal column. To address this problem, chiropractors use some of the following techniques to relieve pressure on the spinal nerves, restore joint mobility, and help return the body to health: • Manual detection (palpation) Acupuncture: Thin, pre-sterilized, disposable needles are inserted at selected parts of the body to increase blood flow and Qi (the life force that runs through the body). Some patients report that acupuncture has provided relief from back pain and helps to promote healing. Herbal medicine: Certain herbs have healing properties. Individual herbs may be combined to create a formula with a specific function (such as pain relief). Biofeedback techniques: The practitioner teaches the patient mental and physical exercises that are monitored by sensors applied to specific points on the body. Each sensor is connected to a machine designed to monitor physiological responses.
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