Back pain affects millions of people each and every year. For many, theyre lives are never the same.

Unfortunately, many people suffer for weeks, months and even years unnecessarily and one of the reasons is a lack of good information. So the purpose of this article is to educate you about many of the treatments that are availab available for back pain.

But before we get started, its important you know that very rarely is one treatment the answer. Back pain is often times a complex problem and it often requires treatments that address multiple areas simultaneously.

Also, my experience working witking with tens of thousands of back pain sufferers has shown that, the people who get lasting relief are the ones who are constantly researching and experimenting with as many treatments as possible. Ok, lets review some of the many tremany treatments that are available for back pain and sciatica:

Orthopedic Care

One of the first placrst places many people go when they experience back pain is the orthopedic specialist (surgeon) and a visit usually last 5-10 minutes. They will typically look at the problem/symptomatic area and often fail to look at the body as a whole.

If youve been to an orthopedic specialist for your back pain, did they do a full body physical evaluation (takes 30 mins. or more) Not likely. Here are some of the common treatments used / prescribed by orthopedic specialists:

Cortisone Shots

Cortisone is a catabolic steroid which is intended to reduce inflammation by killing off the tissue in the inflamed area... now let me ask you, does that make any sense to you at all?

Not only are these injections quite painful, but they rarely result in any pain relief and if they do it is short lived, usually 1-2 weeks if at all. Plus, it does NOTHING to identify or address the cause of the pain... it is only intended to treat the symptom. Its for those reasons that we that we do not recommend them.

Back Surgery

Surgery for back pain is very common and more often than not, the individual still has pain afterwards (or it returns within weeks) and sometimes even new problems! Very rarely is a surgery the answer...

Unfortunately, the same forces that forced that disc to protrude or bulge will likely force more of the disc out, or another disc out.

Physical Therapy

Physical Therapy is traditionally the next step after seeing an Orthopedic Doctor. That is if surgery is not recommended. So what should you expect? The process will start with an evaluation and here may be the start of the problem... here is why.... the doctor has to write a prescription with a diagnosis on it.

So what should you do? When selecting a Physical Therapy office you may want to ask how many patients the office sees in a day and how many PTs they have on staff... then ask how many patients can a PT work with in an hour.

Do not be surprised to hear that a PT can see up to three patients in an hour. Do you think you will get the attention and proper treatments you need? I doubt it.

Chiropractic Care

One of the most common treatments for back pain is Chiropractic Care. The approach consists of physical manipulations of bones and joints in an attempt to line things back up and its recommended typically 2-3 times per week. The problem with this approach is that the same forces (muscles, tendons, and ligaments) will likely pull the bones and joints right back out of place again. Also, most (not all) chiropractors will spend 15 minutes with you if your lucky.

Unless the chiropractor combines the two approaches, it doesnt make sense...

The ONLY way chiropractic care makes sense is if you are addressing the muscle imbalances that are pulling the bones and joints out of place to begin with and that requires strengthening and stretching exercises that are chosen specifically to ally to correct your muscle imbalances.

Alternative Treatments for Treating Back Pain

Massage Therapy

Massage therapy, if done correctly can work wonders for people with back pain. This is not to say that it is the best choice and that it will work for everyone... however, most people will get great results from it if the massage therapist has a good understanding of muscle imbalances and how to work on them.

On the down side sometimes a therapist can get distracted with other problem areas, it is in your best interest to keep them focused on your back and associated problem areas. Like anything else you may need to try several different therapists before finding the one that works best for you and with you.