If you’re dealing with back pain and you’re ready to do something about it, book an appointment with Gbolahan Okubadejo, MD, FAAOS, at The Institute for Comprehensive Spine Care. With offices in and around New York City, including Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan, as well as Englewood and Jersey City, New Jersey, Dr. Okubadejo offers compassionate, thorough care for spine issues and back pain of all kinds. Schedule your visit today over the phone or via the online booking tool.
Back pain is any kind of discomfort in your back. Back pain ranges from a mild muscle ache to a burning, stabbing sensation. Some of the most common symptoms associated with back pain include:
Most often, back pain is caused by:
If one of your spinal discs ruptures or bulges and presses against a nerve, you can experience mild to severe pain, especially in the lower back and down into your thigh, buttocks, leg, and/or foot.
Back muscle or ligament strains are an extremely common cause of back pain. They’re typically the result of a sudden movement, repeated heavy lifting, or exercise after a long period of inactivity.
Osteoarthritis often causes lower back pain. It can also advance to a painful condition called spinal stenosis, which causes the space around the spinal cord to narrow.
During osteoporosis, your bones become brittle and porous. This leads to back pain if weakening of your bones leads to compression fractures in your spine.
Back pain, especially lower back pain, is responsive to a number of treatments. The best one for you depends on the cause, duration, and severity of your back pain. Generally, Dr. Okubadejo recommends steroid injections, physical therapy, or surgery for back pain.
When you see Dr. Okubadejo, he’ll likely recommend you start with steroid injections or off-site physical therapy.
Steroid injections work by reducing inflammation around your compromised muscles, ligaments, and/or nerves. Physical therapy decreases pain and inflammation, and strengthens your back with exercise and stretching.
If neither of these conservative options helps you within six weeks, Dr. Okubadejo will consider you for surgery. Surgery is especially effective for herniated discs and lower back pain that radiates down through the leg.
Don’t let back pain slow you down. To learn about your treatment options, call or book an appointment online today at The Institute for Comprehensive Spine Care.
