Chronic back pain affects your quality of life, ability to work, and even your personal relationships in negative ways. Prescribed pain medication can become less effective over time and in some cases may also be quite addictive. Luckily, there are alternative options that don't require prescription medication and don't require you to continue living in pain. Here are a few treatment options to discuss with your doctor or back pain specialist:
Interventional Injection Services
For severe back pain, your doctor may be willing to offer interventional injection services. This treatment option involves injecting steroids or pain medication directly into your spine, for immediate relief from back pain and spasms. This is not meant to be a long-term pain solution but is very effective in the short-term and since the medication is applied directly to your spine you won't need nearly as much of it. Interventional injection services are a wonderful way to feel relief from your back pain while you explore other longer-term treatment solutions, such as surgery.
Laser Therapy
Another effective alternative treatment option is laser therapy. Specially calibrated medical laser devices target the spine, spinal discs, and surrounding muscles and tendons, reducing inflammation, promoting healing, and reducing pain. In some cases, laser therapy can even serve as an alternative to surgery and is considered minimally invasive with little to no downtime or recovery period afterward. Laser therapy is most effective when administered on a routine basis, with the frequency depending on your specific condition.
Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy has gained popularity with everyone from celebrities to professional athletes and involves standing in a chamber or tank full of very cold, dry, purified air for a few minutes at a time. Cryotherapy works by quickly reducing inflammation and promoting your body's natural healing processes. Like laser therapy, cryotherapy is most effective if you have regular appointments, possibly on a weekly basis. The extreme cold is not as uncomfortable as you might expect since the lack of humidity makes it feel warmer than it actually is.
To help decide which back pain treatment option to focus on, it's smart with an appointment with your back doctor. You can explain that you are interested in exploring alternative treatment options, and even discuss the options on this list to help come up with a treatment plan. You may find that a combination of different treatment options is the most effective approach to getting relief from your back pain.