Chronic Back Pain

John De Angelis, M.D.

Chronic pain is a pain which lasts longer than 2 to 3 months. It usually caused by an alteration in the spine. It can involve the head, the neck, the mid-back, the low back and lower extremities. Chronic pain may occur occasionally, frequently, or it may be constant. In some cases, the origin of the pain causes permanent changes to the nervous system. These changes sometimes trigger the nerves to generate pain, even though the condition has healed. Your pain history is very important. Major questions relative to the history of your pain are as follows:

1. Where do you hurt?
2. Where does it hurt must?
3. When the pain occurs, how long does it last?
4. Does the pain interfere with your sleep?
5. Is the pain off and on or is it constant?
6. Is it sharp, dull, burning, or stabbing, or pressure-like?
7. What is the most severe pain you have on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the worst?
8. What makes it better and what makes it worse?

An important aspect of chronic pain is determining how much the pain hinders your lifestyle, whether at home, at work, or during recreation. The treatment of chronic pain varies depending on its cause, how long it's lasted and how disabling it is. In addition to the history, a physical examination is performed. Following the history and physical, identifying the actual cause of the pain is the next step. Once the cause of the pain is discovered, a treatment plan is put in place. Our goal is to reduce as much of your pain as possible. Your treatment may remove all of your pain or the treatment may not get rid of the pain completely. But the treatment should allow you to participate in and enjoy life more than you could before treatment.

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