Back Pain Specialist

What causes back pain?

Back pain causes include:

Acute injuries

Muscle strains and ligament damage are common causes of sudden (acute) back pain. You can also damage the discs — spongy cushions between the vertebrae (spinal bones). These injuries can happen in your workplace or an auto accident, or when playing sports. Awkwardly twisting your back and lifting without using the correct technique can also cause injuries.

Spinal abnormalities

Some people are born with spinal abnormalities or develop them later on. The most common is scoliosis, which causes the spine to curve in the wrong direction.

Age-related deterioration

The discs in your spine dry and harden as you age (degenerative disc disease). This affects your spine’s alignment and makes you more likely to suffer a herniated disc (where the disc’s core pushes through its outer shell into your spinal canal).

Osteoarthritis develops after years of spinal wear and can cause bone spurs to grow. The ligaments in your spine can thicken. All these problems can cause spinal stenosis, the narrowing of the space in your spinal canal.

Osteoporosis, which weakens the bones, is most common in older age. It causes vertebral compression fractures, where the front of the bones flatten.

Tumors

Spinal tumors and cancer can cause back pain. These include spinal cord tumors, schwannomas (usually benign tumors of the nerves), spinal meningiomas (usually benign tumors in the spinal canal), and sacral tumors (malignant tumors of the spine).

Other diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, can also cause back pain.

In many cases, back pain develops when these conditions cause nerve compression or pinching (radiculopathy).

How is back pain treated?

Dr. Amin begins your back pain care using nonsurgical treatments like:

• Rest and activity changes
• Anti-inflammatory medication
• Physical therapy
• Muscle relaxant medication
• Steroid (anti-inflammatory) injections
• Nerve block (local anesthetic) injections

Losing weight can also help if you’re overweight or obese.

These treatments can be very effective in relieving most people’s back pain. You might also benefit from specific treatments like vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty for vertebral compression fractures. These procedures stabilize your spine with an injection of bone cement.

If your pain doesn’t improve, you have a spinal tumor, or a severe back injury, you may benefit from spine surgery.

What surgery might I need for back pain?

The surgery Dr. Amin recommends depends on what’s causing your back pain. Procedures he specializes in include:

• Minimally invasive lumbar decompression (MILD)
• Microdiscectomy
• Discectomy and fusion
• Artificial disc replacement
• Laminectomy (spinal decompression)

Dr. Amin uses minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS) where possible. MISS uses small incisions, microscope, and special instruments to complete your surgery. This method causes far less tissue damage than traditional open surgery, leading to a faster recovery, less scarring, and a reduced risk of infection after surgery.

Call Beejal Y. Amin MD today or book an appointment online to find the solution to your back pain.