Have Constant Pain? 3 Conservative Treatment Options

18 February 2015 by Brent Woods

It can be hard to deal with pain, especially if you have it on an ongoing basis. Before you have surgery, below are some conservative treatment options you may want to try first. Of course, you should see your doctor before trying anything to make sure you will not make the problem worse.

Physiotherapy

If you have chronic pain due to a musculoskeletal or spinal problem, physiotherapy, also known as physical therapy, may benefit you. Your doctor may suggest you do this first before they do surgery.

The physical therapist will be given instructions from your doctor on the type of physical therapy you need. The therapist may perform extremity or spinal manipulations, as well as therapeutic exercises. Aids are typically used, such as exercise balls, resistance bands and tubing, pulley systems, foam rollers, weights, and more. What the therapist uses depends on the type of injury you have.

In most cases, the therapist will give you exercises you need to do at home. It is important that you follow these instructions to get the best outcome from the therapy.

Pain Institute

Your doctor may send you to a pain institute to deal with your pain. They often use interdisciplinary pain management to help you. This means the doctors at the institute work with your primary doctor to obtain your medical history, and any other information needed. The pain institute doctors will give you a physical examination, along with diagnostic treatment, and then develop a treatment program for you.

Most pain institutes use a multi-disciplinary approach, including, physical therapy, biofeedback, stress management, medication, and therapeutic nerve blocks.

In most cases, all of these treatments can be done onsite so you do not have to go to different doctor's offices to receive your treatment.

Chiropractor

If you have back pain, seeing a chiropractor may be beneficial for you. He or she will take a complete medical history from you, and then perform a physical examination. The chiropractor may use diagnostic imaging, as well as lab tests, to determine the best type of treatment for your pain.

In most cases, the chiropractor will perform spinal manipulation, which is a manual adjustment to your spine. He or she will use short arm thrusts applied to your vertebra to improve the range of motion and pain in your back.

Some chiropractors also provide their patients with nutritional counseling, as well as show you the correct exercises to do at home.

If these conservative treatments do not work, you should see your doctor for other options. He or she may prescribe pain medication, give you a steroid injection, or suggest that you have surgery. Click here to learn more.

Share

Search