Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation Dedicated to Treating Back Pain

Lower back pain is a common issue for many of our patients here at Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation. With a variety of different and effective treatment programs, we are dedicated to treating back pain at our Red Bank office.

Lower back pain is a topic we often like to discuss because it affects many of our patients. We feel that it’s important for our patients to understand why lower back pain occurs. Everyone should have some basic knowledge about the subject and how it can be treated because it’s such a common condition.

Lower back pain is generally caused by age, disease, trauma, or a combination of these. An older person, for example, who already has a certain degree of lower back pain, may be involved in car accident which leads to greater pain and more complications. Pain is usually located and centralized very low in the back.

L5-S1 disc degeneration is the most common lower back pain we see in our office. Spinal vertebrae are separated from each other by discs that act as cushions. The L5-S1 disc is positioned between the fifth lumbar vertebra and the first sacral vertebra. Significantly more stress is put on this disc than on others in the lower back because the curve of the spine shifts at this location.

Disc degeneration occurs as a result of trauma or from the normal aging process. Traumatic impact can cause the disc to degenerate, since pressure is naturally placed on this area of the back, resulting in pain and discomfort.  Someone who has been in a car accident and suffered impact to their back has a greater chance of developing L5-S1 disc degeneration.

Back pain sufferers can experience many different types of pain. Patients can also experience unpleasant symptoms in the arms, legs, or neck, depending on which part of the back is affected- pain in the lower back is only part of the problem. Some of these unpleasant symptoms include numbness, tingling, weakness and shooting pains.

A common type of pain caused by disc degeneration is Sciatica. Sciatica affects the sciatic nerve, a large nerve extending from the lower back and down the back of each leg. Symptoms of sciatica are shooting pains down the leg, weakness, numbness, and tingling. Pain from sciatica can be severe and unbearable for some people. For others, the pain might be infrequent and irritating, but has the potential to get worse.

At Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation we specialize in treating lower back pain. We never give up on our patients; it’s our passion to help find an end to pain without surgery or long-term painkillers. Depending on the injury and type of back pain, we offer a range of treatment strategies:

Physical Therapy— focuses on reducing pain, increasing function and flexibility, building strength, and preventing pain in the future. Physical therapy for disc injuries includes the use of spinal decompression traction. Traction alleviates pressure on the nerves that are causing pain.

Chiropractic Care— has two main goals for back pain: to realign the spine to reduce pain and inflammation, and to increase motion in the joints of the spine to regain normal movement and function. Because chiropractic care is involved with the central nervous system, which includes the spine and parts of the body responsible for pain, it is especially appropriate for back pain.

Acupuncture—is great for the treatment of back pain because it helps decrease the stimulation of nerve cells that cause pain by releasing serotonin. Serotonin interrupts pain signals before they can reach the brain.  Acupuncture also provokes the release of endorphins in the body, which act as natural painkillers.

Pain Management— offers unique methods of pain relief before medications and surgery are necessary. For some patients, their back pain is so severe that it makes physical therapy and other practices impossible. At Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation, we offer a few different methods of pain management. An example of one of these methods is:

            Epidural Steroid Injections- administered right in our Red Bank office, provide very significant pain relief by reducing the painful inflammation that is irritating or compressing the spinal nerves. A long-lasting steroid is injected in the outermost part of the spinal canal, providing a calming, pain-relieving effect.

In our office, we see many different cases of back pain. It’s one of the most common reasons people seek health care. Millions of working days and countless hours of fun and exercise are lost due to back pain. At Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation, we are ready to treat your back pain once and for all. Stop in our Red Bank office or contact us for more information.