Back pain ranges from a dull ache to sharp pain that can shoot down a leg, and it has many possible causes. Most of it improves over time with home care. New bladder or bowel problems with back pain need the emergency room. Pain that lingers can be looked at during a comprehensive evaluation at our Towson clinic.
When Everyday Movements Start to Hurt
It may have started the moment you lifted something heavy or took a fall. It may also have crept in over months of long days at a desk. Now bending to tie a shoe takes planning, and getting up from a chair comes in stages.
At our Towson clinic, the first job is to work out what kind you have. The same ache can come from a strained muscle, a disc, arthritis or something outside the spine.
Understanding Back Pain
Back pain is pain along the spine or in the muscles, discs, ligaments and nerves around it. It is one of the most common medical problems in the United States. It can come on suddenly or develop slowly, and treatment depends on the cause and the symptoms.
Doctors sort back pain by how long it lasts. Acute pain usually lasts a few days to a few weeks. Subacute pain lasts 4 to 12 weeks. Chronic pain lasts longer than 12 weeks.
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Something in the back is irritated
The back relies on bones, discs, ligaments, tendons and muscles. Trouble in any one of them can cause pain.
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A nerve may get involved
A disc or a narrowed spinal canal can press on a nearby nerve. Pain may then travel into the buttocks, hip or leg, sometimes with numbness or weakness.
Who is more likely to get it
- People over 45, since back pain gets more common with age
- People whose jobs involve heavy lifting, pushing, pulling or twisting
- People with weak back and stomach muscles
When it is something else
- Kidney stones or infections
- Endometriosis
- An infection in the bones or discs of the spine
- A tumor on the spine, in rare cases
- Pregnancy
A National Institutes of Health guide explains how the spine's bones, discs and muscles can each cause back pain.
Back pain can have several causes at once, and sometimes no specific cause can be found.
If your exam points to a problem this team cannot help with, you may be referred to another provider.
Back Pain Symptoms to Recognize
Symptoms vary with the type, cause and location of the pain.
- A dull, constant ache
- Sudden, sharp pain
- Pain that shoots down a leg
- Pain that gets worse with lifting or bending
- Pain that gets worse when sitting, standing or resting
- Morning stiffness that eases with activity
- Pain that spreads into the buttocks or hip
- Numbness or weakness in the legs or feet, which you should get checked
What Tends to Cause Back Pain
Muscle or ligament strain
Muscles and ligaments hold the spine steady. Lifting too much too often can overstretch them, and so can one bad twist.
Bulging or herniated discs
Each disc is a pad with a soft center, sitting between two bones of the spine. When that center pushes outward, it can press on a nerve.
Arthritis and spinal stenosis
Arthritis in the lower back can narrow the space around the spinal cord. Doctors call that narrowing spinal stenosis.
Osteoporosis
Thin, brittle bones can lead to painful breaks in the vertebrae.
Poor posture and desk work
Poor posture may add to back pain. A desk job can play a part too, especially in an uncomfortable chair.
How We Treat Back Pain in Towson
Treatment depends on what is causing your pain. Services like these may be recommended depending on your condition, based on our comprehensive evaluation, and any plan may be shaped around your needs.
Chiropractic
A chiropractor may use adjustments to help align the spine and restore motion in the joints. Care may also look at everyday habits, diet and exercise.
Spinal Decompression
This treatment stretches the spine, with the aim of opening space between the vertebrae and easing pressure on nerves and nearby soft tissue. It may be offered for back pain linked to herniated, bulging or degenerative discs.
Traction Therapy
Traction options at this clinic include lumbar traction and Back on Trac, a machine used as a form of spinal decompression. Back on Trac may be an add-on for lower back pain or disc problems.
Posture Correction
If you sit at a desk all day, the team may offer posture tips and stretches for your back.
Chiropractic Rehab
Stretches and rehab exercises may be part of care for back pain. Chiropractic assistants do this work.
Class IV Laser Therapy
The laser is a noninvasive handheld device that emits light. It may be used for lower back pain and for chronic back pain.
The chiropractor carefully evaluates each condition to determine if you are a candidate for gentle chiropractic treatment. Numbness, tingling or weakness is carefully screened, including orthopedic and neurologic testing, to isolate the cause and how your symptoms present.
Your Options for Back Pain, Side by Side
These are common options for back pain, not a full list. Your doctor or a spine specialist can talk through others.
| Option | What it involves | Who provides it |
|---|---|---|
| Home care and time | Most back pain improves with home treatment and self-care. | You, with advice from your doctor |
| Heat, massage or acupuncture | A physician guideline names these for low back pain under 12 weeks old. | Heat at home; a massage therapist or acupuncturist |
| Exercise and rehab | The guideline names exercise among the first choices for chronic low back pain. | Rehab here: chiropractic assistants. Elsewhere: ask your doctor |
| Chiropractic adjustments | Hands-on work on the joints of the spine. | A chiropractor at this clinic |
| Spinal decompression and traction | A stretch of the spine. | This clinic, if recommended |
| Medicine | The guideline names anti-inflammatory drugs or muscle relaxants when medicine is wanted. | Your doctor or pharmacist |
| Surgery | Mayo Clinic says surgery is rarely needed for back pain. Cauda equina syndrome, a nerve emergency, needs it quickly. | A spine surgeon |
The heat, exercise and medicine rows draw on a physician guideline on low back pain from the American College of Physicians.
When Back Pain Needs the ER
Go to the emergency room now for back pain with new trouble urinating or loss of bladder or bowel control. Do the same for numbness in your upper legs or buttocks, or leg weakness that makes walking hard. Do not wait for a clinic appointment.
These can be signs of cauda equina syndrome, which is pressure on the nerve roots at the bottom of the spinal cord. It can cause permanent damage if treatment is delayed.
Get immediate care for back pain with
- A fever
- A recent fall, a blow to the back or another injury
Call a health professional for back pain that
- Lasts longer than a few weeks
- Is severe and does not ease with rest
- Spreads down one or both legs, especially below the knee
- Causes milder weakness, numbness or tingling in a leg
- Comes with weight loss you did not plan
Cleveland Clinic's overview of cauda equina syndrome lists these symptoms and tells people who have them to visit the emergency room immediately.
Mayo Clinic's list of back pain warning signs separates what needs immediate care from what can start with a call.
Back Pain Care at Our E Joppa Rd Clinic
New patients may start with a detailed intake. If you also see your own doctor, chiropractic care may be combined with your other medical treatment.
Near Towson Estates and Goucher Woods
Towson Estates is the neighborhood directly behind this stretch of E Joppa Rd. Goucher Woods is nearby, about 0.4 miles northwest, and Goucher College is about a mile northwest.
Schedule Your Back Pain Evaluation
Before you come in, it helps to note when the pain started, what makes it worse and any medicines or supplements you take. Call the clinic with questions about insurance or cost.