If you have chronic back pain, you are not alone. Nearly everyone at some point in their lives has back pain that interferes with work, routine daily activities or recreation. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Americans spend at least $50 billion every year on treatment for lower back pain. It is the most common cause of job-related disability and a leading contributor to missed time at work.
Did you know that back pain is the second most common neurological ailment in the United States? Only headaches are more common. Fortunately, most occurrences of back pain are acute or short-term and go away within a few days.
Most acute back pain is mechanical in nature, and is the result of trauma to the lower back caused by a sports injury or housework. Chronic back pain, however, is measured by duration – pain that persists for more than three months is considered chronic.
Reasons For Chronic Back Pain
Many people believe that back pain is an inevitable part of life and avoid treatment. This unfortunate assumption can prove detrimental for the following reasons:
1. Ignoring chronic back pain can significantly reduce your quality of life. Whether it manifests as a shooting pain or dull muscle ache, chronic back pain management can have physical and emotional benefits. Chronic pain’s emotional effects include depression, anger, anxiety and fear of re-injury, which may hinder the ability to return to work or once enjoyable activities.
2. Ignoring chronic back pain can result in more severe medical ailments. When you feel pain, your brain is sending you a kind of warning signal. If you ignore these warning signs, your back pain and the disorder causing it can worsen. In cases of untreated degenerative disc disease or osteoporosis, an individual can suffer severe restricted range of motion or even the inability to walk.
3. Ignoring chronic back pain can cause great financial expense in the future. The longer you wait to seek pain management options for your back pain, the more expensive it could be once. Because your back pain is a symptom of a greater ailment, the condition will continue to deteriorate until you get treatment.
Charlotte Pain Management
If you or someone you love suffers from pain, Dynamic Health provides chronic back pain treatments and programs. We offer new client appointments within one to three days, and we are one of the only pain management clinics to provide imaging-guided injections without a long wait.
Call Dynamic Health at 704-525-6288 to schedule a consultation! Be sure to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter for all the latest in health, wellness and pain management news!