Non-operative treatment options
Most people will experience lower back pain at least once in their lifetime. Back pain is a symptom complex arising due to abnormality of underlying anatomical structures which can have many possible causes. Untreated back pain and sciatic leg pain has been linked to poor quality of life, loss of employment, obesity and depression among affected patients. More than 90% of low back pain patients can be treated by non-surgical means and only a minority require surgical interventions.
Common non-operative treatments include:
Pain medication-
An effective combination of different pain medication types given for few days relieves most cases of back and mild sciatica pain. The prescribed cocktail comprises of NSAID’s, mild opioids, acetaminophens, antidepressants and muscle relaxants.
Physiotherapy-
both passive (TENS, USG, thermal packs, iontophoresis) physiotherapy and active exercises are prescribed in a physical therapy programme. Passive physiotherapy reduces patient’s pain by relaxing soft tissues and increasing blood flow. Active physiotherapy aims to strengthen and stretch the muscles of back to condition them back to optimum.
Injections-
injections are proven techniques to treat back and sciatic pain. Injections can be performed as day care procedure and have a very good safety profile. The various injections that can be offered are caudal epidural injections, nerve root block, facet injections and sacro-iliac joint injections.
