Back Pain Treatments in Phoenix and Scottsdale
Most people experience back pain – for days or years
The vertebrae, discs, ligaments, tendons, muscles and fascia of your spinal column provide structural stability and flexibility so you can stand and move with ease – until they hurt.
Back pain can limit your active life. Your back might hurt for no apparent reason, or because of an awkward move, poor posture, repetition or overexertion can cause injury. Chronic “upper back” pain and trapezius muscle spasms are a common result from a sprained first rib, often caused by a fall on an outstretched arm that injures the shoulder and the ligaments at the junction of the neck and rib cage.
If your pain is more intense or persists longer than you expected, you might look for help. If you have muscle aches, limited flexibility or difficulty standing after an injury from a fall or accident, or if your legs or arms experience dull, throbbing, shooting or radiating pain, numbness, tingling or weakness, you might really need to see a doctor.
What’s going on?
You are most likely to have issues with the muscles that support the most weight: your lower back or the base of your neck. Stabbing low back pain could be from muscle spasms. Your upper and middle back are especially susceptible to injury from contact sports, accidents, and falls.
During your exam, your doctor will gently test your range of motion, press on and around the painful areas, and check how well your nerves are working. That may be enough to decide what to do next. Imaging tests – X-rays, MRIs, or CT scans can be useful to identify what’s causing your pain.
Regenerative Treatments
If your back pain persists through these conventional treatments, you may be a good candidate for regenerative treatments – prolotherapy, PRP therapy (platelet-rich plasma therapy) or stem cell therapy. These equip your body to repair and heal damaged tissue without surgery. These regenerative treatments usually cost you less than surgery (even if you have good insurance), and they are far less invasive. Back surgery, particularly fusion of vertebrae, is effective in only a portion of cases, often fails to provide lasting relief, and almost always creates issues that require additional fusion surgeries. In contrast, regenerative treatments regenerate new tissue, repairing and restoring damaged tissue to good-as-new condition.
Listen to Dr. Michael Cronin speak about regenerative treatments in this video:
Back-pain conditions helped by prolotherapy, PRP or stem-cell treatments
Back conditions that respond well to prolotherapy, PRP and stem cell treatments include:
- Muscle strains
- Strained sacroiliac (SI) joint ligaments (maybe the most common disabling injury)
- Herniated disks
- Sciatica
- Osteoarthritis (worn-down cartilage)
- Bone spurs
- Sprained sacroiliac and lumbar ligaments
- Unresolved lumbar disk degeneration (often be helped by a combination of PRP and traction)
Contact our naturopathic pain doctors in Phoenix/Scottsdale today to schedule an appointment for treating your back pain.