DenverSpine - A Center of Excellence in Colorado

Here’s 4 steps to relief of pain

Have back or neck pain? If so, you are not alone. Four out of five Americans have a back pain attack at some point in their lives. And once you have your first back pain attack, you are four times more likely to have a recurrence. Sadly, most people spend a lifetime going from one clinic to another, from one gimmick treatment to another, all in a search for relief from nagging attacks of back and neck pain. DenverSpine is referred the most complex patients from across the Colorado region. Fact: One of every four new patients coming to DenverSpine are people who have had back surgery ELSEWHERE and still have pain symptoms. Failed back surgery is more complicated to treat than if they had gone to the right specialist initially.

If you have back or neck pain, GET INFORMED before you make your problem worse. Get back to activity with these four steps:

1: Don’t take back pain lying down!

If you have a painful back spasm, it’s okay to lay down and relax with some anti-inflammatories — for a day. But research shows the sooner you can get moving again, even with a 20 minute walk, the faster you will recover. That’s because your back needs movement to get circulation to sore tissues.

2: Relieve symptoms with our Home Remedy Book

About 80% of simple back and neck pain can resolve itself with home remedies. As a community service, DenverSpine has mailed out more than 10,000 copies of our 36-page Home Remedy Book over the last 10 years. It has symptom charts, pain-relieving stretches and remedies you can use at home. Call us at 303.783.1300 and we’ll send you a copy for free.

3: Get specialist advice fast when symptoms worsen

If your symptoms haven’t improved with a week of home remedies, or if you have radiating pain into an arm or leg, it’s time to see a spine specialist. Other emergency symptoms — weakness or numbness in a hand or foot or loss of bowel/bladder control — are all emergency symptoms that should be seen by a spine center within 48 hours to prevent permanent problems.

4: Spine surgery? Get a 2nd opinion 1st

DenverSpine as a spine Center of Excellence, has a variety of treatment options designed to relieve back and neck pain symptoms. The spine center emphasizes non-surgical treatment options first, and special stretches that make your back stronger, more flexible and resistant to future back pain attacks. If surgery is necessary, the spine center has fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons (the highest level of medical education in the U.S.) who are proficient in the latest spine surgery techniques.

As a commitment to quality, DenverSpine was one of the first spine centers in the state to publish a Clinical Outcome Report Card for insurance companies.

If you’ve been told you need spine surgery, the smartest move for you is to get a second opinion first. Why bother? Because a second opinion may reveal that you don’t need spine surgery at all, or at least not the fusion surgery someone else recommended. DenverSpine combines the expertise of spine surgeons, physical medicine MDs and spine-specialized therapists all under one roof for a team approach.

4: Beware gimmicks, magic pills and laser spine surgery

Americans all desire a quick fix from back pain, a magic pill, a quick surgery, a special “laser” technique. While the fascination with lasers might be fine for Star Wars, consider that while a laser might be fine for slicing through metal, using one to operate around one’s spinal cord may not be the right choice.

Need more information on back and neck pain?
Click here to view resource books on spine problems, what causes back pain, what causes neck pain and when to see the doctor.