Back to Life: Learn About Your Nonsurgical Solutions for Lower Back Pain

No one struggling through their first bout of lower back pain thinks it’s the start of a long-lasting or serious problem. But without treatment, your risk may be higher than you realize.

Four in 10 patients have recurrent lower back pain within a year. For one in five, their first bout turns into a chronic pain condition. As a result, lower back pain is the top cause of disability.

Skilled pain management specialist John East, DO, and our team at Addison Pain + Regenerative Medicine in Addison, Texas, have helped many patients overcome acute and chronic lower back pain. 

Our team offers an unprecedented array of safe nonsurgical treatments, allowing us to personalize your care and support your ability to lead an active lifestyle, even when standard medical care fails. Here’s a rundown of the treatments we offer.

Interventional pain management

Interventional techniques are highly specialized to target the nerves causing your pain. Nerves may directly cause your pain because they’re pinched and/or inflamed. Or they may indirectly cause the problem by carrying nerve signals carrying pain messages to your brain.

When we perform any treatment targeting a specific nerve or tissue, we use real-time imaging to see the structures and guide the procedure.

The following are six examples of interventional treatments:

1. Nerve blocks

A nerve block is an injection of a local anesthetic that stops a specific nerve from transmitting pain signals. We can use this treatment on most nerves associated with lower back pain.

2. Epidural steroid injection

The epidural space lies between the spinal cord and vertebrae that make up your spine. After injecting a steroid medication (usually together with a local anesthetic) into this space, the medicines flow around nerve roots, relieving lower back pain by reducing nerve inflammation.

3. Facet joint injection

Injecting an anesthetic and steroid into the facet joint eases the pain of spinal arthritis.

4. Radiofrequency ablation

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is similar to getting an injection but without the medication. We use a needle-like device that sends radiofrequency energy into a precisely targeted nerve. The energy creates a wound that stops pain signals, potentially easing pain for six to 12 months or longer.

5. Sacroiliac joint injection

The sacroiliac (SI) joints connect your sacrum (a triangular-shaped bone at the bottom of your spine) to your right and left hip bones.

Unlike other joints in your body, the SI joints don’t support movement. Instead, their job is to provide stability and absorb shock as you move.

When one or both SI joints become inflamed (sacroiliitis), you feel the pain in your lower back. We ease the swelling and pain with an injection that sends a local anesthetic and anti-inflammatory steroids into the joint.

6. Lumbar disc injection

When a condition in the intervertebral discs, causes your lower back pain, we inject pain-soothing steroids.

This list includes many treatments, but it’s not comprehensive. Call Addison Pain + Regenerative Medicine or book an appointment online today to learn more and get relief for your lower back pain.