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Dr. Andrew Rynne
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Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How Can Chronic Pain In The Back Be Treated?

I am a 69y/o female who has chronic back pain. I have had 5 lumbar surgeries, and 2 cervical laminectomies. I am not able to take pain meds by mouth as they all cause extreme stomach pain. My present back dr. has no more ideas on what to do. He said he doesn t treat pain. I have been to local pain management & have had injections to see if they would help, they did not. The other dr. suggested a book on dealing with pain. I have also tried acupuncture.
posted on Sat, 15 Oct 2016
Twitter Mon, 11 Mar 2019 Answered on
Twitter Wed, 13 Mar 2019 Last reviewed on
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Physical Therapist or Physiotherapist,  's  Response
Hello,

Sorry to hear about the number of surgeries you have undergone. Coming to the query, as your pain is constant in nature, this is indicative of having Weakness of the muscle groups a lot over the spinal and core region.

The overall physical fitness ability of the muscles is reduced due to fatigue setting in it faster.

As you are 69 and must have consumed a lot of pain killers there might be chances of the kidney to get trouble and maybe this is the reason the physician is not ready for providing any assistance with a medical prescription.

I am sure you must have tried physiotherapy in the past for some exercise and TENS therapy. I will advice you to try with the same now, as the TENS therapy on low intensity has longer effects if applied for 30-40 minutes in the session.

Strengthening the muscles is of utmost importance because the weaker the muscles the more the fatigue in the muscles and the pain.

Usually, in my clinical practice of 12 years, most chronic cases we deal in clinics are taken into there spine rehabilitation program which goes on for 12-16 weeks.

As we need to look for symptomatic treatment and also to work on the long the benefits. I would say, it has helped them.

The only drawback we face is two things here - one it is time consuming and second it is costly. But patients are better in shape I should admit that.

We do not advice for more pain killers at 60+ age because this will lead to a more kidney issue and other things as a headache.

Also, you need to take good vitamin D and calcium, as for female post menopause there are hormonal changes and there is always a less amount of vitamin D and calcium levels which also play a role in leading to pain symptoms.

Having an oral supply of the same should be added benefit. I will advise you to take up the therapy plan with suits you better, but without any exercise, it will only make the muscle weaker and pain will not stop.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Take care

Regards,
Jay Indravadan Patel, Physical Therapist or Physiotherapist
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How Can Chronic Pain In The Back Be Treated?

Hello, Sorry to hear about the number of surgeries you have undergone. Coming to the query, as your pain is constant in nature, this is indicative of having Weakness of the muscle groups a lot over the spinal and core region. The overall physical fitness ability of the muscles is reduced due to fatigue setting in it faster. As you are 69 and must have consumed a lot of pain killers there might be chances of the kidney to get trouble and maybe this is the reason the physician is not ready for providing any assistance with a medical prescription. I am sure you must have tried physiotherapy in the past for some exercise and TENS therapy. I will advice you to try with the same now, as the TENS therapy on low intensity has longer effects if applied for 30-40 minutes in the session. Strengthening the muscles is of utmost importance because the weaker the muscles the more the fatigue in the muscles and the pain. Usually, in my clinical practice of 12 years, most chronic cases we deal in clinics are taken into there spine rehabilitation program which goes on for 12-16 weeks. As we need to look for symptomatic treatment and also to work on the long the benefits. I would say, it has helped them. The only drawback we face is two things here - one it is time consuming and second it is costly. But patients are better in shape I should admit that. We do not advice for more pain killers at 60+ age because this will lead to a more kidney issue and other things as a headache. Also, you need to take good vitamin D and calcium, as for female post menopause there are hormonal changes and there is always a less amount of vitamin D and calcium levels which also play a role in leading to pain symptoms. Having an oral supply of the same should be added benefit. I will advise you to take up the therapy plan with suits you better, but without any exercise, it will only make the muscle weaker and pain will not stop. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Take care Regards, Jay Indravadan Patel, Physical Therapist or Physiotherapist