The fact that back pain is a common problem that virtually everyone experiences from time to time doesn’t make your current pain episode any easier to bear. Dealing with back pain regularly, though, might distract you from a condition that’s getting worse or reaches problem levels.
The back pain experts at Westside Pain Specialists are here to help, and today, we’re illustrating three signs that indicate you need help with your back pain condition. Not every issue comes down to minor overexertion, and there are times when you benefit from medical assistance.
Pain that results from a traumatic injury, such as a car accident, might lead to an easy decision to seek medical care. At other times, when pain arises gradually or as a result of exertion at home or at work, you may put off visiting a medical professional in hopes that things will improve naturally.
Dr. James Nassiri and his team at Westside Pain Specialists can help you with many back problems. We urge you to consider the following three signs as an indication it’s time to book an appointment with us so you can return to pain-free living.
Your tendency to rest in response to back pain is a good instinct. In many cases, taking a break from situations and tasks that aggravate your pain is enough to give your body time to repair the causes of your pain, whether it’s muscle strain or some form of inflammation.
While progress may not be at the speed you’d prefer, you should, in such cases, feel improvements from day to day. However, if you’ve been living with pain for a week or longer with no sign of steady improvement, it’s time to enlist our aid.
We call it referred pain, when you have back pain that’s accompanied by symptoms elsewhere along nerve pathways. Perhaps the best-known referred pain condition is called sciatica.
Back pain in this case also features nerve root compression or irritation, which send symptoms down the length of the sciatic nerve. You could feel sensations in your buttocks, rear thighs, calves, and feet.
These sensations aren’t always pain, either. You may experience local numbness or tingling, or you may find that muscles don’t produce their usual strength. These symptoms can exist at the same time as your back pain, or on their own, stemming from problems where the nerve roots exit from the spinal cord.
When you have bowel or urinary problems that coincide with lower back pain, you may have a rare but serious condition in which the cauda equina nerve bundles are affected. It’s possible that cauda equina syndrome can cause permanent damage, so treat these symptoms as a medical emergency and get medical attention immediately.
Any time you experience back pain that causes concern or doesn’t improve, contact Westside Pain Specialists in Beverly Hills or Rancho Cucamonga, California. Call our nearest office directly to book your appointment today.
