Effective and Minimally Invasive Lower Back Pain Treatments

Lower back pain is one of the most common reasons people will visit their healthcare provider. Nearly four out of five people will suffer from lower back pain at some point in their lifetime. However, just because lower back pain is common doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take it seriously. Lower back pain can cause debilitating symptoms from pain, stiffness, muscle spasms, and a general inability to move around and complete daily activities without discomfort.

Fortunately, there is a variety of non-surgical and minimally invasive lower back pain treatments one can try to effectively relieve their pain. Seeking early treatment can help reduce the severity of the pain over time, and allow you to get back to living a normal, healthy life.

In this article, you’ll learn about the various non-surgical and minimally invasive lower back pain treatments you can consider to relieve your pain.

Non-Surgical Lower Back Pain Treatments

Before considering minimally invasive treatments, it’s essential to try out non-surgical lower back pain treatments to see if they can help relieve your pain.

Here are some of the top non-surgical lower back pain treatment options to relieve your pain.

• Physical Therapy

Physical therapy can be extremely beneficial in treating chronic back pain. Often, physical therapy exercises are some of the first treatment options doctors will recommend helping relieve your lower back pain.

It’s essential to understand that not all back pain is the same. Thus, physical therapy exercises that may be effective for one person at relieving their pain symptoms might not be as effective as

treating your back pain symptoms. Additionally, consistency is key to seeing results with physical therapy. Try to maintain an exercise routine you follow based on your doctor’s guidance.

Some examples of physical therapy exercises you may be told to try by your doctor include:

• Stretching and flexibility exercises

• Aerobic exercises like walking or swimming

• Core strengthening exercises

• Retraining your posture

• Practicing Mindfulness Techniques

Enduring chronic back pain can be debilitating and can greatly impair your quality of life. This includes being unable to do certain activities you used to enjoy without pain and discomfort.

As a result, back pain can cause not just physical pain, but emotional strain. Frustration, depression, and anger are some of the many mental strains back pain can cause sufferers. Mindfulness provides the ability to emotionally heal and manage your emotions, as dealing with back pain can be overwhelming.

Certain mindfulness techniques your doctor may recommend include yoga, meditation, and tai chi.

• Diet

The foods you eat can impact your lower back pain. Some foods like trans fat and processed foods can increase inflammation in the body. Plus, being overweight or obese can put added pressure and weight on the body, worsening your back pain issues. A healthy diet and maintaining a healthy weight can help reduce your lower back pain.

• Lifestyle Changes

Some of your daily lifestyle habits can be exacerbating your back pain. For example, smoking can delay the healing process of pain. Plus, if you do any strenuous activities that may put a strain on your back, this can also cause more pain. Be sure to listen to your body and make necessary lifestyle changes to help improve your pain.

• Injection Treatments

Injection treatments such as nerve blocks, nerve ablations, and epidural steroid injections are some injection-based treatments that can help relieve your lower back pain. While injections

only provide temporary relief, they can be an effective treatment option for those looking to delay surgery or for those who aren’t interested in surgical treatment options.

• Alternative Treatments

Various alternative treatments like acupuncture, biofeedback therapy, electrical nerve stimulation and more provide nonsurgical back pain treatment options to help relieve your pain.

• Medications

Certain medications can provide temporary relief to your chronic lower back pain. While taking and relying on opioid medications isn’t advised as they can be addictive, they can provide temporary relief as you work to find other treatment options to manage your pain.

• Back Braces

Using a back brace for lower back pain can provide the spine the extra support it needs to improve your pain symptoms. The added stability on the back helps to reduce the strain on your spine and remove any excess weight on sensitive portions of your back.

Top Minimally Invasive Lower Back Pain Treatments

If the above non-surgical lower back pain treatments aren’t effective, several surgical options can effectively provide pain relief.

Minimally invasive surgery can be a great way to effectively treat your pain without necessarily undergoing intensive surgery.

Below are common types of minimally invasive lower back pain treatments to consider:

• Minimally Invasive Lumbar Discectomy

This treatment helps relieve pain from herniated discs that may be pressing again a patient’s nerve roots, causing pain and discomfort. This procedure involves the surgeon removing any damaged discs that may be causing pressure and pain in the spine. This procedure only involves a small skin incision and doesn’t require the removal of any bones or muscles.

• Lumbar Interspinous Spacer

A lumbar interspinous spacer treatment can be used to treat pain caused by spinal stenosis. Spinal stenosis occurs when the space inside the backbone is too small, causing pressure on your spinal cord and nerves, which can then cause lower back pain.

A lumbar interspinous spacer involves creating a small incision where the level of stenosis is to then expand and create more free space for the spinal canal, relieving the spinal cord and nerves of the added pressure causing the pain.

• SI Joint Fusion

The SI joint fusion, or sacroiliac joint, are joints that link your pelvis and lower spine. Sacroiliac joint pain can occur, which often involves inflammation of one or both of your sacroiliac joints, referred to as sacroiliitis.

To treat sacroiliitis that may be causing your lower back pain, doctors can do a SI joint fusion, which involves just one tiny incision. With the incision, the surgeon will use plugs that are made of bone to stop the sacroiliac joints from rubbing against one another and causing unwanted inflammation and pain.

• Microdiscectomy

Microdiscectomy is technically an open surgery, but many minimally invasive techniques can be used to lessen the impact of the surgery. This treats pain associated oftentimes with a herniated spinal disc and involves the surgeon removing a small portion of the bone that’s over the nerve root and disc material under the nerve root. This provides pressure relief on the spinal nerve root and can effectively treat back pain.

Ultimately, minimally invasive treatments for lower back pain can provide an effective way to treat your pain without undergoing an intensive open surgery procedure. Oftentimes, more intensive back surgery is accompanied by increased pain, scarring, longer recovery time, and more disadvantages. However, if non-surgical and minimally invasive treatments fail to provide adequate pain relief, more intensive treatment options can be a potential next step to try and relieve your pain.

Start Your Journey to Relieve your Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain can significantly reduce your quality of life and limit the daily activities you’re able to do. It can be extremely frustrating to live life on the sidelines because of your pain. But, life doesn’t have to be this way.

At the Pain and Spine Specialists, Dr. Rao and our team of advanced pain specialists are here to provide effective solutions to help treat your chronic pain. If you’ve been struggling with lower back pain for some time without much improvement, consider scheduling an appointment today so we can create a tailored treatment plan to reduce your lower back pain.

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