Back pain is considered chronic if it lasts 3 months or more. Chronic back pain may come and go with varying degrees of intensity. If you are struggling with chronic back pain, it can negatively impact your daily life, activities, and relationships. Understanding spine pain and its causes and determining the correct diagnosis are the first steps towards managing chronic pain through targeted back pain treatment in Singapore.
Back pain is one of the most common types of pain that individuals belonging to different age groups experience at one time or more in their lives. Back pain can manifest as a deep and dull ache or sharp shooting pains that may or may not be accompanied by a tingling sensation and numbness. It may be localised at one point or may radiate towards the limbs. Depending on the duration and onset of back pain, it can be divided into three subcategories:
Back pain can be caused by a variety of factors including mechanical issues with the spine, bones, discs, muscles, and ligaments, or by certain inflammatory conditions. These include:
Chronic back pain can severely impact the quality of one’s life. When you struggle with chronic spine pain, it can disrupt your daily activities and hinder you from enjoying life. More often than not, people struggle to cope with all these conditions and as a result, other health issues start arising. It is crucial for individuals suffering from chronic back pain to get evaluated by a qualified back pain doctor in Singapore so that their pain can be managed and other health issues arising can be addressed effectively.
Because of the adverse effects that chronic back pain can have on one’s quality of life, managing and treating the pain is necessary to ensure a healthy physical and mental being. A spine pain specialist may recommend one of more of the following treatment options for chronic back pain.
Physical therapy is the most effective option for severe back pain treatment. According to your individual symptoms, a spine specialist can devise an exercise routine tailored to your specific condition and needs. The main aim of physical therapy is to strengthen the core muscles and improve flexibility and posture. Physical therapy can include exercises, stretches, aerobics, and other techniques. Sticking consistently with the exercise regimen is the key to success in managing chronic pain.
Switching your diet to a more non-inflammatory one can also go a long way in managing chronic back pain. Some foods, especially those that are high in sugar and processed foods are highly inflammatory that can contribute towards aggravating your chronic pain. A qualified nutritionist can help create diet plans for you according to your requirements and needs to ensure a non-inflammatory diet. Moreover, changing your diet in a way that maintains a healthy weight can also help lessen the strain on your spine, bones, and other structures caused by being overweight. All these dietary changes together can help control inflammation and pain in your back.
Modifying your lifestyle to avoid the activities that aggravate your pain is also vital in managing chronic pain. Take a note of the activities that you find difficult to do or that worsen your back pain and try to avoid those activities. On the contrary, keep doing those tasks and activities that you enjoy and that do not worsen your symptoms. In this way, you will avoid the stressors of back pain while still maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle.
A vast array of oral, topical, and injectable medicines are available that can help you manage your chronic pain. These medicines include anti-inflammatory drugs, painkillers, muscle relaxants, and nerve pain medication. Depending on your condition and symptoms, your doctor for back pain can prescribe a combination of drugs which must be taken according to the specified instructions and dosages.
Another alternative therapy for managing chronic back pain is to use nerve stimulation to block incoming pain signals. Acupuncture is also a form of nerve stimulation. However, the more commonly used technique involves transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in which small electrical impulses are sent to the nerves to block incoming pain signals.
Apart from the measures and techniques that your doctor, physical therapist, and nutritionist can recommend, there are many home remedies and other important steps that you can take on your own to manage your chronic back pain better. These include:
One of the major causes of chronic back pain is wrong posture. By maintaining a healthy posture, either with the use of braces or splints or by mindfully keeping a correct posture, you can lessen your pain symptoms and experience back pain relief.
Often the first response to pain is to rest. However, resting for more than a day or two after acute pain can likely do more damage than any good. Lying on your back can actually worsen your back symptoms and can even lead to more complications. However, slowly getting up and starting to move is essential to promote healing and to lessen the pain symptoms. Walking, swimming, and yoga are low impact activities that can help you remain active and manage pain.
Another effective home remedy to address chronic pain is through ice and heat therapy. Applying ice packs on your back for a few minutes several times a day can help reduce inflammation and swelling, which in turn, reduces pain. In case of muscular pain, applying heat compresses on the back can relax the muscles, increase blood flow to the area, and help control pain. Sitting in a warm bath is also good for chronic aches.
Getting your back massaged by a professional masseuse or therapist can also be helpful in managing chronic back pain. By applying just the right amount of pressure on all the right places, the muscles are relaxed and the increased blood flow to the area promotes healing and regeneration. Getting a back massage once weekly has shown promising results for chronic back pain.
Stretching your back after being in one position for long is also important to avoid the back problem getting worse. When you are sitting for long periods, take breaks in between, stand up, stretch your back, and walk around a bit. This helps maintain good back health.
With chronic back pain, it can be difficult to get a good night’s sleep. However, disturbed sleep can contribute to increased back pain the following day and this vicious cycle continues. Therefore, it is important to try to get a good night’s sleep. Try to find a position where you feel the most comfortable. Use pillows and cushions to help support your back and find the most comfortable position to ensure a good night’s sleep.
Stress can cause the muscles in our body to tense up especially the shoulder and back muscles which can contribute to chronic pain. Doing mindful meditation to reduce stress can help the muscles relax, thereby improving symptoms of back pain.
All these above-mentioned treatment modalities for managing back pain depend entirely on one main factor: correct diagnosis. If the underlying cause is correctly diagnosed, only then can a qualified spine specialist in Singapore recommend the corresponding treatment options. Getting the right diagnosis for your back pain is, therefore, the most vital step and for correctly diagnosing back pain, MRI is considered the most effective option.
An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is considered the gold standard for diagnosing underlying backache issues because of its detailed imaging results. It is a non-invasive diagnostic method that uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed images of the inside of the body. Unlike an X-ray that uses radiation to create images, an MRI is considered extremely safe as the radio waves or magnetic field do not cause any adverse effect on body cells. An MRI can effectively visualise the bones, spinal cord, nerves, muscles, ligaments, and tendons in the body.
A spine MRI is often recommended in case of acute or chronic back pain to determine its underlying cause. May recommend an MRI to check for:
An MRI, like CT scan, is a non-invasive test that usually takes between 15 to 90 minutes depending on the location of the body and the symptoms for which the test is being conducted. Before an MRI, you can eat and drink as usual unless specified otherwise by the doctor. However, it is important that you inform your doctor if you have a metal implant in your body, are pregnant, or have a history of allergic reactions to medicines or contrast dyes. Since the MRI machine uses magnetic rays, any metallic object can interfere with its safety and effectiveness. Therefore, before the test, you will be asked to remove any metal accessories like jewellery, piercings, watches, undergarments, dentures, etc.
The MRI machine comprises a hollow chamber that has a sleek, sliding bed/table inside. You will be asked to lie on that table after which the table will slide inside the donut-shaped chamber. The chamber is quite small from the inside which can create a difficult situation for people who have claustrophobia or who are not comfortable in small, enclosed spaces. In such a case, you may be given a sedative to help relax your nerves.
Once the test has been completed, the table will slide outside the chamber from where you are free to go. If you were given a sedative or anti-anxiety medication, you will need someone else to drive you back. Otherwise, you can carry out your routine tasks as soon as the test is over. After the exam is over, a radiologist interprets the results and writes his report. The radiologist’s report and the images will then be sent to your back pain doctor who will recommend treatment accordingly.
Chronic back pain can be a debilitating condition that can severely affect one’s quality of life. However, with effective home remedies, therapies, and targeted medical approaches, it can be managed so that you are able to live a pain-free and healthy life.
An MRI scan produces high-definition, detailed images of the inside of your body. It can visualize all the necessary structures, such as muscles, spinal cord, soft tissues, and nerves around the spine area. Therefore, it can pick up almost all kinds of injuries, inflammation, tumours, and degenerative issues that may be contributing to back pain.
An MRI scan can help diagnose almost all underlying causes of lower back pain. It can find tumours in or around the spine, if a spinal disc is bulging or herniated and compressing any nerve roots. MRI scans can also determine if there is any damage to the nerves, tissues, or bones in the area, and can also find if the spinal canal has narrowed. It can also pick up degenerative conditions of the spine as well as any misalignment or bone spurs in the spine, all of which can contribute towards lower back pain. This way, you can seek treatment for lower back pain with an accurate diagnosis.
Although most underlying causes of back pain can be picked up by an MRI, there are certain cases in which the MRI scan shows normal structures while you may be experiencing back pain. In such inconclusive findings, further work-up may be required to determine the cause of pain. These can include specialised x-rays, nerve conduction tests, diagnostic nerve blocks, and in rare cases, exploratory surgery.
MRI’s for chronic back pain are repeated only if there are strong clinical indications such as worsening of symptoms that may show progression of disease. If the symptoms remain unchanged, then MRI scans are hardly repeated since they will not have any impact on the treatment. Speak to your physician to best manage your condition.
Since an MRI scan can detect injuries, damage, and inflammation in the spine, bones, muscles, nerves, ligaments, tendons, and other structures, it can help determine the underlying cause of lower back pain. Once the correct diagnosis has been made, a specialised doctor can plan the treatment accordingly.
The price of an MRI varies depending on region, please check with your medical provider on the costs involved.
