Did your grandma ever warn you about slouching when she said it is bad for your health? She was right because back pains tend to worsen with every poor posture you practice at sitting and even lying down. Back pains are associated with your spinal cord, which is the backbone supporting most of your movement. Therefore, you will likely have limited mobility and a reduced quality of life if you have back pain. Thankfully, back pain San Antonio treatments are available to help you relieve pain symptoms and increase your quality of life. Treatment may usually begin with medications and exercises to increase flexibility and strength in your core. Here are a few highlights of common treatments for your back pain.

Medications

On your initial visits to your doctor over back pain, your doctor will likely recommend medications to treat your back pain depending on the type and cause. Medications may include pain relievers like Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to remove the pain. You will need to take your pain relievers as your doctor prescribes because misuse may cause more severe side effects. Secondly, your medications may include muscle relaxants to help with the pain that fails to improve after taking pain relievers. Additionally, you can use topical pain relievers, short-term narcotics, and certain antidepressants.

Physical Therapy

You can try various exercises that will help strengthen your back and increase flexibility around your back. Physical therapy will teach you different techniques to stand, sit and move around, so your spine stays properly aligned without causing a strain on your back. Additionally, you will learn how to adjust your movements during a back pain episode to avoid worsening symptoms while keeping you active.

Cortisone Injections

The injections contain local anesthetic and corticosteroid medication to help reduce inflammation and pain in your back. Usually, you will need this medication in a few supervised shots because it has potential side effects that may be worse than the back pain itself if misused. You may need to protect your back for a while after getting a cortisone injection until your doctor says it is okay. You will notice improved symptoms after two days, and the results of the injections may last you several months before you go for another injection.

Spinal Cord Stimulation

Treatment with a spinal cord stimulator involves placing electrodes between your cord and epidural space to send impulses to your back every time you feel pain. You can settle on spinal cord stimulation if pain relievers, physical therapy, and shots have failed to relieve back pain. Your treatment will happen in two phases. The first phase involves a trial where your doctor implants the device temporarily to check how your back pain improves with the device. Successful pain reduction will mean a second phase involving implanting the device permanently into your spine.

Back pains may not be serious at first, but continuing to ignore them will only worsen the symptoms and hinder the ability to perform tasks. Several treatments for back pain will focus on reducing your pain and inflammation as much as possible so you can resume normal activities as soon as possible. Treatment can begin with physical therapy to strengthen your back muscles, medications to reduce pain, injections, and simulations where conservative treatments fail.