There is some evidence that heat therapy may help reduce low back pain and disability. However, this is true only in people who have back pain that is of less than 3 months in duration. Moreover, the heat packs only causes a mild reduction in pain that is only of a short duration. For people who have back pain for more than 3 months, both heat and ice are a waste of money.
The type of heat therapies that one can use include hot water bottles, soft heat packs, hot towels, saunas, steam, heat wraps, electrical heating pads and infra red lamps.
Low back pain is a very common and disabling disorder. There are hundreds of treatments for back pain but none is ideal. Over the past few years, many doctors and alternative health care workers have been offering spinal manipulation therapies or “hands-on treatments” for the spine. This basically consists of manipulation and mobilization of the back joints. The manipulations are carried in certain directions and the often the joints are “cracked.” These treatments are undertaken for many weeks and months and are quite expensive. By the end of 3-6 months, you will most likely have spent anywhere from $3,000-$8,000 for the treatments. So does the therapy work?
Analysis of data done by Cochrane reviews revealed that spinal manipulation therapy was no better than physical therapy or regular exercise. So what does this mean to the consumer?
If you have money to spend, then perhaps you may want to start with a physical therapy program. If you have no money, then you can obtain the same benefit by doing exercise at home or at the gym. The type of exercises to help increase muscle strength and mobility can be obtained from cyberspace for free. If you do not have internet, swimming and walking will do the trick.
All over the country, back doctors are offering traction therapy for low back pain. The concept is simple. You sit or stand and a device gently pulls on either end of your body. This will supposedly relieve the pressure on the joint and you will be free of back pain. Like the plastic surgeons, the therapy involves multiple sessions for many weeks or months. Each session can cost anywhere from $175-$300 and on average one needs 20-30 sessions. Low back pain is a major health problem and accounts for large number of people being absent from work, being disabled and depressed. So far, no one therapy seems to work for all people with back pain and now we have traction.
Evaluation of current literature indicates that traction is just another scam. It does not work; it provides little or no pain relief and does not reverse your disability. The only people who benefit from traction therapy are the people who sell it- these health care providers are the ones who drive the fancy cars with your hard-earned money. There is not a single well-controlled randomized study that shows that traction is effective for low back pain. Of course, there are some bogus studies from the Orient or those published by the manufacturers, but the results are fraudulent.
If you have back pain and do not want to end up more depressed than what you already are, avoid traction. At least you have money for food now; after traction therapy not only will you still have back pain but you will also go hungry.
The medical treatment of back pain sucks. In the last 2 decades, surgeons have gotten together with the pharmaceutical companies and developed devices that can be implanted into the spinal cord. The devices consist of an electrical generator that delivers pulses to a targeted area of the spinal cord. The devices are implanted using a surgical procedure and are powered by an implanted battery. How these devices work is not known but thousands of such devices are inserted each year. So do these implants work for pain relief?
From the literature, spinal cord devices for pain work in less than 3% of patients with only some types of back pain. The data show that these devices are absolutely crap for failed back surgery and any other type of complex back pain.
Unfortunately, the field of pain control is full of surgeons who have turned business people and have started to insert these devices in anyone who walks into their office. These pain devices are not reimbursed by any insurance company, are prohibitively expensive and most times do not work. So even if you have any common sense, one of the things you should do is avoid surgeons who want to scam you out of your hard earned money by inserting devices which basically suck.
Many people have chronic back pain for which there is no good therapy. While there are potent narcotics available, most doctors will not prescribe long-term narcotics because they are addictive, have serious side effects and there is always a hassle with the DEA. For many people with chronic back pain, it is a real struggle to lead a decent quality of life.
In the last 2 decades, many doctors have been prescribing a variety of other drugs for pain. One of these drugs is carbamezepine. This anti seizure drug is widely prescribed for a variety of chronic nerve pain syndromes but the question remains, “is it effective?”
Review of the literature indicates that carbamazepine does work for chronic nerve pain, at least in the short term. Most people report moderate pain relief. However, at least 1/3 of patient s also developed minor side effects ranging from skin rash to abdominal cramps. Therefore, if you have chronic nerve pain, perhaps you can ask your doctor for a trial of carbamazepine. The drug does take a few weeks to become effective and is not cheap.
Because of the failure of conventional medications to help everyone with back pain, many people have been turning to alternative medicine. Herbs like willow bark, devil's claw and capsicum may help alleviate the pain but do not improve range of motion. Other means of treating back pain include chiropractic care, acupuncture, Massage, relaxations and cognitive behavior techniques. Recently yoga has been advocated as a method of relaxation and improving posture.
Unfortunately, the results of back pain with any of the above methods are not great and less than 10% of people have any benefit. It is hard to recommend anyone of these above methods because most lack scientific proof that they work.
The best way to treat back pain is to avoid it in the first place. Prevention means regular exercise, discontinuing smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, standing upright, keeping a good posture and lifting heavy items in a proper manner.
There are many types of surgical procedures for back pain including fusion, removal of discs or vertebrae. The results of surgery are mediocre at best and recurrence of back pain is common. Before you jump in line for surgery, get to know your surgeon and talk to other patients who have had surgery- you may just want to stick to physical therapy and use of pain medications. Just read on cyberspace on how people have done after back surgery- the majority are in worse shape and completely disabled. Back surgery is also very expensive and the good results are not guaranteed. There are no refunds in back surgery. Unless you want a life of pain and untold suffering, you should think twice about back surgery.
