Back pain can be caused by a multitude of factors from sprains and strains to degenerative diseases. When struggling with chronic pain in you back, seek a spine specialist for diagnoses and treatment. Seeking treatment allows you to return to regular activity and the kind of life you've wanted to lead. Relieving, reducing, and managing back pain is a real possibility for you, too.

Addressing pain begins with an accurate diagnosis of the symptoms and difficulties. Diagnostic tools vary depending on where the problem is located. These tools could include:

Once an appropriate diagnosis of what the pain is caused by, the intervention to address your back pain can begin. Pain management options will defer depending on what the cause of your pain is, but there are several different options to chose from. Your medical provider will be able to provide you with an individualized plan for treatment, Some options to relieve, reduce or manage your back pain include the following:

Radio waves are used to generate heat around the nerves, thereby causing the nerve to lose its ability to send pain signals to the brain. This is a minimally invasive procedure that should be effective for more than 12 months.

This intervention is an injection that will block sensory signals to the brain. Additionally, a medical branch block can also diagnose a pain related issue. You can return to regular activity rather quickly after the treatment.

Similar to the previously described block, this in a injection that is used to diagnose and treat a pain related issue. This steroid injection provides pain relief quickly.

This injection reduces inflammation which can cause back pain. This block reduces the pain cycle, improves your recovery, and helps you get back to your desired activities. Sometimes, more than 1 injection is recommended to get the most relief from this treatment. Regardless of what kind of pain you have, there is assistance available. Sonoran Spine has a team specialists dedicated to accurate diagnosis and treatment recommendations.

Learn about your options to relieve, reduce, and manage your pain. 

BACK PAIN-- REDUCE, RELIEVE, MANAGE

FARHAD MOSALLAIE, DO WAS INTERVIEWED FOR A SPECIAL PAIN MANAGEMENT PIECE IN THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF PHOENIX MAGAZINE.

For many, chronic and acute pain threatens well-being and interferes with daily living. recent advances in pain management have given millions of people hope for the future. From physical therapy to spinal surgery, valley medical practitioners offer diverse ways to tackle pain.

Pain defes defnition, yet it affects the lives of an estimated 100 million Americans, according to a recent study conducted by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. While hard to defne and describe, pain is associated with a wide variety of injuries, diseases and chronic conditions, including headaches, lower back pain, cancer, arthritis and various neurological disorders.

DR. MOSALLAIE INTERVIEWED IN PHOENIX MAGAZINE

THE PROBLEM OF PAIN: FROM CONSERVATIVE TREATMENTS TO SURGERY, OPTIONS ABOUND FOR PATIENTS IN PAIN

The American Academy of Pain Medicine reports that 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain – which is more than diabetes, cancer and heart disease combined.

Not surprisingly, back pain tops the list, afflicting 27 percent of U.S. adults. Severe headaches or migraines, neck pain and facial pain also are top culprits. “It’s really head-to-toe,” says Abram Burgher, M.D., a fellowship-trained pain management physician with The Pain Center of Arizona. “We take everyone and try to figure out what is the best therapy.”

Read on as Valley physicians discuss some of the therapies that are helping patients reclaim active lifestyles with less pain or no pain. 

DR. MOSALLAIE INTERVIEWED BY PHOENIX MAGAZINE FOR PAIN MANAGEMENT ARTICLE

While you may smile knowing that nice weather is here, it also means you likely have responsibilities in your yard. Whether you enjoy gardening or not, leaning over and pulling weeds is often strenuous on your back. You may notice you have pain in your back when you weed whack as well. Through these few tips, you can reduce the amount of pain you experience and help prevent worsening a pre-existing back condition.

When you complete the same tasks over and over again, you stress your muscles. For instance, when you bend over to weed, you put stress on your lower back and neck. If you're weed whacking, you may feel the wrath in your shoulders. If you want to prevent overworking your muscles, you should frequently take breaks.

Just like before a rigorous exercise, you should stretch your muscles a bit before you begin yard work. If not, you put yourself at risk for sustaining an injury while you work.

Always maintain proper hydration while you work. Your entire body needs water to function, even on a cellular level. By receiving proper hydration, you help your muscles to work properly. One common sign that your muscles don’t receive enough hydration is muscle cramping. If you already have a back problem, the muscle cramping will further worsen your pain.

You probably don’t want to continuously do the same task for prolonged periods of time, even if you take breaks. Try working a task for a certain length of time and then switching to another task. Continue to do this if you plan to work a long day in your yard to avoid overstressing your muscles.

5. CHOOSE YOUR POSITION FOR WEEDING CAREFULLY

You don't want to bend over while standing up to weed. When you do that, you place excess stress on your back muscles. Instead of hunching over, sit on a wheeled gardening stool. You could also use a blanket or a gardening mat and sit to weed. You'll stress your back muscles less. 

You want to wear shoes that support your arch well if you mow your lawn, whack weeds, or rake leaves. If your feet have inadequate adequate support, you can experience back pain as a result. 

Part of your yard work may consist of lifting large mulch bags to dump or move stones for your wall, among other activities that require you to lift heavy objects. You never want to lift with your back. You always want to lift with your legs. Accomplish this by bending your knees when you lift.

You may think a task is much quicker when you haul a large or heavy load of objects at one time, but doing this stresses your back. You may want to make smaller piles of what you're carrying to avoid an injury or overstressing your muscles. 

You probably have days when you want to just keep pushing yourself to accomplish as much as you can. This practice, however, hurts you in the end, especially if you complete tasks that stress your back and you already have a back problem.

Don't let back pain hinder you from getting all of your yard work done this summer. With these tips, you may reduce the amount of stress your back feels. You might also prevent yourself from sustaining a back injury while you work outside.  

 with Sonoran Spine, serving several cities throughout Arizona, if you experience an injury or have back pain this summer. 

interventional pain management

BACK PAIN-- REDUCE, RELIEVE, MANAGE

DR. MOSALLAIE INTERVIEWED IN PHOENIX MAGAZINE

DR. MOSALLAIE INTERVIEWED BY PHOENIX MAGAZINE FOR PAIN MANAGEMENT ARTICLE

Tips for Preventing Back Pain After Yard Work