If back pain is under control with medication, that's all the therapy needed. Pain medications should be used to increase function and allow participation in an active therapy program. Thirty percent of back patients have herniated discs and experience no pain. X-rays and other such tests are necessary to find back pain. In many cases, doctors can administer treatment without extensive testing.
Doctors can cure back pain.
Back pain demands immediate medical attention. You should seek medical attention if the pain lasts for days, increases progressively or affects normal body functions. Patients go through the same tests to see if their back pain comes from a bad disc. If that disc has not shrunk to less than 50 percent of its normal height, it can be treated with IDET rather than fusion, said Dr. Jack Kabazie, medical director of The Western Pennsylvania Hospital's Institute for Pain. His low back problems began seven years ago after he finished playing golf.