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Most people experience back pain at some point in their life. But how do you know when the pain is serious enough to seek treatment or even consider surgery?
As a neurosurgeon, this is a conversation I frequently have with my patients. It’s also something I had to consider personally soon after finishing medical school. One morning I woke with pain in my neck that shot down through my arm to my fingers like a lightning bolt. After trying ibuprofen and other conservative treatments, it wasn’t long before I got an MRI that revealed a herniated disc. At the age of 30, I ended up having a discectomy in my neck, which thankfully relieved the pain.
Back pain won’t always require surgery. In fact, most of the time, you don’t need to have back surgery to relieve pain. However, the following three signs may indicate it may be time to get an evaluation from a spine specialist to determine whether back surgery may be an option for you.
Signs you may benefit from back surgery.
1. Back pain continues to get worse, interfering with your daily life.
Back pain affects 80 percent of people at some point in their life. However, the cause or source of back pain can vary. For example, it's common to feel neck or back soreness after sleeping awkwardly or exercising, but typically, this kind of discomfort gets better after several days. In contrast, other causes of back pain may require treatment for relief.
There are several different causes of back pain that persists, including:
- Spine arthritis, which occurs through normal wear and tear on the spine as we age
- Bulging or herniated discs, which can irritate or pinch the nerves in the spine and cause pain that radiates to your arms or legs
- Spine fractures
- Tumors along the spine
In most cases, spine surgery isn’t the first thing we think of when discussing treatment for back pain. We want to help you feel better and avoid surgery whenever possible. There are many different conservative treatment options that can help improve back pain, including:
- Physical therapy
- Anti-inflammatory medications
- Steroid injections
However, if you’re experiencing chronic back pain that gets in the way of your daily life despite trying conservative treatments, it may be time to talk to a spine surgeon about other options.
2. If you feel a painful “burning” sensation in your legs or arms.
Most people can pinpoint where their back or neck hurts. But if you have a pinched nerve near your spine or neck, the nerve can actually cause the pain to shoot through your arm or your leg, depending on the nerve. How you describe the pain to your doctor can provide very strong clues to what might be going on. Imaging tests and other diagnostic tools may be used to further assess your condition and inform treatment. If nonsurgical treatment options don’t help the pain, surgery is an effective way to relieve the pressure on the nerve and alleviate discomfort.
3. You experience numbness in your legs or have difficulty walking.
While many causes of back pain can be treated with a “wait and see” approach before considering surgery, some other conditions may require surgery sooner. For example, if your spinal cord is in danger of damage or injury, we want to treat it before it gets worse.
In addition, other spine conditions can affect your ability to walk long distances and cause a feeling of numbness or weakness. These should be promptly treated. Because numbness or weakness can also be associated with other back conditions, it’s important to get a thorough spine evaluation to assess all potential causes of your pain. This ensures you get individualized treatment that is specific to your particular condition and symptoms.
When should I see a doctor for spine pain?
You probably don’t need to rush off to the emergency room for back pain, in most cases. For example, if you know you just worked out yesterday, it’s reasonable to rest for a few days and see if it gets better. However, if you have back pain that doesn’t improve within several weeks or if things are getting worse, you may want to give your doctor a call.
Oftentimes, when you're first evaluating back pain, seeing a physical therapist can be worthwhile. They can evaluate your muscle strain and identify any red flags, such as significant weakness in the legs, which may indicate something serious.
Talk to our MedStar Health spine specialists today.
At MedStar Health, we take a team approach to helping patients improve their back pain. With both board-certified neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons who specialize in spine surgery, pain management physicians, and physical therapists with specialized spine training, we have extensive expertise in treating a wide range of spine conditions with both nonsurgical treatments methods and surgery.
We know surgery can feel like a major decision, and we take our time to ensure you understand the goal of surgery as well as any potential benefits or risks. Just like everyone’s diagnosis and treatment, your outcomes will be unique to you. However, knowing what we’re dealing with before surgery helps us to predict what to expect after surgery. With the help of advanced surgical technology, including computer-assisted navigation and intraoperative imaging, spine surgery is safer than ever with minimal risks for eligible patients.
