Know When to Consult a Neck and Back Specialist

Work, lifestyle habits, dietary habits, wrong sleeping posture, irregular exercise can take a toll on your neck and back. Persistent pressure on these regions may cause pain and result in you suffering from it. We all deserve a pain-free life, so you should consult a specialist when the pain becomes chronic.

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Symptoms of Neck Pain

Contact the neck specialist if the neck pain:

1. Is severe
2. Persists for several days without relief
3. Spreads down arms and legs
4. Accompanied by headache, numbness, weakness, and tingling
5. If the pain is accompanied by numbness or loss of strength in your arms and hands or if you have shooting pain in your shoulder or down the arm.

Symptoms of Back pain

Consult the back specialist if there is:

1. Sharp, burning pain in the back
2. Leg numbness, tingling above or below the knee
3. Stiffness or aching that occurs anywhere near your spine
4. Sharp, shooting pain that arises from your back and travels from your buttocks down your thigh to your calf and toes
5. Consistent pain in your middle and lower back, especially while sitting or standing for longer hours
6. Loss of bowel and bladder control is a serious symptom, and weakness in both legs is a serious symptom. These conditions need immediate medical care.

Causes that can affect Neck and Back

Effect on the Neck

Neck pain can arise from poor posture; leaning on your computer or hunching over the workbench can be the reason. Osteoarthritis can also be the common cause of neck pain. Other reasons can be:

1. Muscle strains
2. Worn joints
3. Nerve compression
4. Injuries
5. Diseases

Effect on the Back

Pain in the back can limit your ability to move. It can interfere with the quality of life you are living. Such pain can come suddenly or intensely. Some of the reasons can be:

1. Strenuous activity, heavy lifting, repetitive twisting
2. Trauma, injury, or fractures
3. Breakdown of vertebrae often causes stress on muscles and ligaments
4. Infection
5. Abnormal growth
6. Obesity
7. Slipped disk and pinched nerve
8. Problems of vertebrae or bones
9. Other compression factors
10. Joint problems

Getting medical help is always advisable. Thus you can consider taking advice from neck and back specialists at Spine Team Spokane WA. They examine you and advise you on the best course of treatment.

How to manage pain? The Scientific approach

Surgeons correct neck and back pain using surgery if the condition requires. Thankfully, such cases are fewer, and neck and back specialists can handle the issues non-invasive. However, to cure some neck and back pains, follow-up treatments are the only way. In some cases, the pain becomes chronic; the specialists try to manage it with medication, exercise and keep you off the surgery table as much as possible. Specialists follow these things:

1. They get to the root cause of the problem, not just the symptoms
2. Customized spine test to measure back and neck strength and function
3. Research-based core strengthening program
4. Measurement of progress through a scientific process

Few strategies to fend off neck and back pain

Sometimes, patients should learn to manage neck and back pain, on a daily basis, through lifestyle changes and self-management. Few strategies are:

1. Get plenty of rest. A well-rested body will help you cope with pain in a better way.
2. Stay active every day. Stretch, walk and exercise every day that don’t worsen your pain.
3. Pace yourself. Please don’t feel that you have to do it all. Allow time to rest.
4. Communicate with your care provider. Set limits to what you can or cannot do. Allow people in your life to help you.

Bottom Line

Neck and back specialists dedicate themselves to committing long-term solutions to improve the quality of life of patients. Patients should not suffer while turning their heads or lying down to sleep. If you find your neck and back pain consistent, then it’s time to meet specialists at Spokane Spine Team.

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