Back & Neck Pain: Why You Need to See a Specialist
As one of the most complex structures of bones in your body, your back carries the weight of all of your activities.
From simple tasks like picking up a piece of paper or looking down at your phone, to training for that half marathon, your back is the support center of your body.
5 reasons bad back & neck pain occur:
- sitting at the computer for a long time without standing up and stretching
- poor posture
- sleeping in weird positions
- bad shoes
- heavy lifting
Complete with muscles, bones, nerves, cushioning disks, joints, and ligaments, your spine alone is responsible for connecting your musculoskeletal system, monitoring your body’s sensory functions and even sending signals to your brain.
Unfortunately, with all of these amazing functions comes the responsibility to maintain it, and according to the American Medical Association, around 80% of people will deal with back and neck pain throughout their life.
As shocking as that may seem, what is even more ghastly is the number of doctors unable to state a firm diagnosis: 90%.
While this could mean 90% of patients are having to live with chronic back pain, the reality is, a large chunk of patients are misdiagnosed.
This results in numerous surgeries and treatments that do little to improve their pain. For many, their pain is even worse than before the surgeries.
That is why it is critical you seek a specialist regarding your back & neck pain.
The problem arises with the fact that there are hundreds of possible verdicts but only a couple dozen symptoms.
This means that one or two symptoms could have a correlation to a list of different diagnoses, Not to mention symptoms differ between males and females.
The process of determining a diagnosis takes time; that means diagnostic imaging, tests, observations and evaluations.
The safest and quickest way to find your correct diagnosis is by talking to a specialist. An Interventional Pain Management Specialist will have much more knowledge in how to diagnose and treat spine conditions.
Specialized doctors will be looking for distinct patterns to indicate the problem, and if nothing matches up, they may refer you to a different specialist.
It is also important to find a doctor that understands all bodies are unique, and therefore, the same conditions can look different on different people.
On your end, make sure to be patient while getting to the bottom of your pain and consider acquiring a second opinion.
Diagnosis is not something to rush, and while a surgery may promise to fix your pain, it could do more harm than good.
The horror stories of misdiagnosis are endless, and here at Nona Medical Arts, it is not uncommon that we receive a new patient that has had their own.
By the time they get to us, they may have had two or three surgeries and been dealing with pain for 10 plus years!
Not too long ago, one of our patients had a hip replacement after complaining of pain in their hip and groin. A year after surgery, the pain is worse than before.
Upon extensive evaluation, they were properly diagnosed with an L2-3 disc protrusion.
From there, recovery went much quicker, but that doesn’t make up for the year of confusion and trauma that came with misdiagnosis.
It is important to remember the body is a very complex thing and it is to be treated with the utmost care and attention.
The goal is to minimize the amount of money and time that is spent on your recovery.
Doctors are human and therefore prone to mistakes, so consulting with a specialist and obtaining a second opinion is a must when dealing with complicated or chronic pain.
Dr. Richard Gayles is a Pain Management Physician, that founded Nona Medical Arts with a mission to treat patients who suffer from chronic pain and restore their quality of life.
Along with a specialized staff, Dr. Gayles does a comprehensive, interdisciplinary evaluation of each patient and creates an individualized treatment plan.
The providers employ innovative techniques to help patients trying to reduce their pain and help their bodies heal. Nona Medical Arts has two locations for pain management, one in Orlando, Florida and one in Brevard County, Fl.
Dr. Gayles and his compassionate staff have had enormous success, saving patients the trauma from unnecessary surgeries.
Offering comprehensive back & neck pain evaluations to get to the root cause of the issue.
Our offices also provide multiple regenerative options including PRP injections, Bone Marrow Aspirate concentrate, and SVF (adispose stem cells injections).
Schedule a free consultation today at our Nona Medical Arts Orlando office, or Merritt Island office to better serve you.
References:
https://www.acatoday.org/Patients/What-is-Chiropractic/Back-Pain-Facts-and-Statistics/Back-Pain-Facts-and-Statistics
