Chronic Low Back Pain: Can I Avoid Surgery?

Chronic low back pain can make getting out of bed in the morning a Herculean task and staying upright all day a feat of endurance. Chronic pain shouldn’t stop you from living your best life, nor should it drive you into premature spinal surgery. 

At Progressive Spine and Sports Medicine in Ramsey, New Jersey, our team of experienced pain medicine doctors can help evaluate your low back pain and find ways to treat you that stop short of surgical solutions.

When low back pain becomes chronic  

Pain tells your brain that you’re hurting, but sometimes signals get crossed. What feels like pain in your back can be referred from somewhere else, or you may have been in pain for so long your body has forgotten how to feel anything else. 

Medications become less effective as your physiology becomes accustomed to metabolising them, and physical therapy may stop providing you with relief as well. Your pain becomes chronic, and you may think surgical intervention is your only solution. It’s not!

Alternatives to surgery for low back pain

Your doctor will start by completing a comprehensive exam to evaluate the source of your pain and the level of pain you typically experience. They can recommend a treatment or range of treatments based on the findings, giving you options for pain management.  

Electrical stimulation can help teach your nerves to react differently under stimulation, allowing you to experience a pleasant sensation prompted by endorphin release instead of pain. 

Acupuncture and electroacupuncture operate on the general principles that your nerves can be trained to respond in appropriate ways to analgesic release by your body and don't have to resort to constant signaling the brain about pain. 

Stem cell treatments are a form of regenerative therapy. Stem cell therapy can help your spine heal by attracting growth factors to the area and allowing the tissues to regrow themselves, protecting nerves up and down your spine. 

Botox® injections have proven to be helpful for patients with chronic low back pain caused by muscle spasms. The Botox injection targets the muscle/nerve connection, helping to paralyze the spasm and prevent pain signals from traveling the nerve to the brain. 

Osteopathic manipulation treatment (OMT) works to relieve pain by relieving tension in the fascia, which is the connective tissue between your joints and muscles, including your spinal column. Gentle pressure and manipulation can release these muscles from spasm and give you a sense of relaxation and mitigation of pain. 

Ready to find a nonsurgical solution that works for your low back pain? Call our office at 201-201-0443, fill out our web-based contact form, or book an appointment using our online scheduling system today.