1. Evaluate your habits. Take a moment and think about how you spend most of your day. Do you work on your feet or sit in a chair all day long? After a day of work do you come home and crash on the couch? Perhaps there is something in your daily routine that is causing your back pain.
2. Correct your posture. Spending a lot of time in a car or working on a computer can lead to a tremendous amount of stress on your lower back and neck. Try some active sitting and learn about correct desk ergonomics.
3. Try alternative methods of exercise. Getting active doesn’t mean you have to join a gym, there are many other alternative methods of exercise. For example, Yoga offers many poses that can help ease back pain. You could also try riding a bike or swimming.
4. Stay active. The old remedy of bed rest for back pain is no longer a wise option. Bed rest can actually make pain worse because without exercises and daily movement, back muscles and the spine weaken and become even less able to support the body properly overall.
5. Change your diet. Your diet can directly affect your health. For example, foods that are more acidic like beef, chicken, dairy, and fish promote inflammation, however foods that come from plants are anti-inflammatory. A diet that is high in animal fats and proteins can cause weight gain, which leads to chronic inflammation of the joints in the spine. This can trigger a pain response.
6. Alter your sleeping position. While your body is resting, your spine may be under a great deal of stress. Some sleeping positions are actually healthier for your spine than others. Try changing your sleeping position.
7. Track your back pain progression. Keep a journal or make a note of the day you first started feeling back pain. If the pain lasts longer than two weeks it may be considered chronic pain. Know the difference between chronic and acute back pain.

The most important point to remember is that you should not ignore the symptoms of back pain. It’s best to know the source of the back or neck pain and have an evaluation to determine whether it is something that will improve, or if the condition could deteriorate if not treated. Many times, people try and ignore the pain or mask its symptoms with over-the-counter medication, and end up hurting themselves even more. Consider an evaluation a check-up for your health.

Both partners should try to learn as much as they can about the pain condition and should attend doctors’ appointments together to learn about options for treatment. Also, it’s important that each person understand, directly from a medical professional, how much physical work he or she can safely perform.

While the pain is a real factor in the equation, a spouse may feel that one’s emotional support is critical to their distress. When in pain, knowing that you are accepted and understood by your partner is a large part in dealing with the pain.

For those that worry about a lack of communication from the loved one that may be in pain, watch for signs that lead to anger or stress. Those that try to hide the pain will find that the stress of the injury can still effect your attitude and stress level in many other areas of your life.

If you or a loved one are struggling with chronic pain, don’t let it build a wall between those that you love. Give us a call and we can help you pinpoint the cause of your pain and put an end to your suffering, both emotional and physical.

What is Pain Mapping?
Pain mapping is a technique used to locate the source of the patient’s pain.

What is the Purpose of Pain Mapping?
The purpose of pain mapping is important so that our doctors can treat only the specific area in the least invasive way possible.

Why is Pain Mapping an Advancement from other Techniques?
Early methods of diagnosis had no way of identifying what areas of the spine were causing pain and what was not. Now we have MRI scans and we can easily determine whether or not someone actually needs a fusion. But, an MRI may not give the doctor enough information to make a surgical decision, so that’s why we use a pain mapping process that identifies the exact source of the pain.

In other words, a pinched nerve may only be causing 50% of the pain while another nerve maybe be responsible the other 50% of the pain. With pain mapping, the patient and the doctor can isolate the exact points of pain and take direct steps to correcting that problem, which may or may not include surgery.

How is the Pain Mapping Technique Performed?
Pain mapping is performed using local anesthesia and light sedation while the patient is awake. The purpose of pain mapping is to isolate the exact source or sources of the pain, while keeping the pain at an absolute minimum. While an MRI may show several points of concern, the information gathered from the pain mapping procedure can have a direct effect on the surgical decision making process.

If you have further questions about pain mapping or other minimally invasive techniques, visit our website at zerospinepain.com

Much like the breath in your lungs, your spine needs a strong flow of blood. Did you know that smoking can actually increase you chances of acquiring back pain? Your spinal discs and tissues rely on nutrients and oxygen supplied by the blood. Take the blood supply away and you are left with the inevitable results of degeneration.

Smokers are also more prone to back pain than nonsmokers because nicotine restricts the flow of blood to the discs that cushion your vertebrae and increases the rate of degenerative change. Smokers also have double the risk of an osteoporotic fracture than nonsmokers because cigarette smoking reduces calcium absorption and prevents new bone growth. If you are a smoker, quitting smoking can benefit your health in many different ways and will reduce your risk of future back pain.

Also see our Smoking and Back Pain blog post.

Not all doctors and endoscopic surgeries are created equal. While many doctors claim to perform invasive back and neck surgery with an incision of less than 3 mm, they often still use expandable retractors. Why is this considered a big deal? Expandable retractors mean that while some surgery centers can still have a small incision point, they use these retractors to expand the area once inside your spine. The expansion can cause as much tearing and pain as traditional open back surgery.

At The Minimally Invasive Spine Institute, we can promise you that we never use expandable retractors. Instead, our specialized and innovative equipment allows us to enter between the muscle, often through an incision as small as 3 mm, and avoid cutting the muscle altogether.

The result is that there is less trauma to the body. In addition to providing an end to your pain, our surgery technique lets us operate without muscle damage that often requires no stitches, has less blood loss meaning a much quicker recovery, and less scarring because our procedures leave you with virtually no scar tissue so you can begin living an active and healthy lifestyle as soon as possible. Another perk is that depending on the type of surgery that is performed, our patients often walk out of the surgery center in as little as two hours after the procedure.

Visit zerospinepain.com to make an appointment with one of our doctors.

We’ve been unable to find studies directly concerning continuous passive motion for back pain, but there is a history of studies following knee surgery. Those studies have shown controversy concerning the effectiveness. Some studies support knee arthroplasty, while others show little or no effect when compared with placebo (source).

The bottom line is that continuous passive motion machines, like the Back2Life product, are much like partner assisted stretching. Very little is actually happening to your spine. Also, for people of a larger size the machine is not as effective in providing motion. The machine rocks and moves as it tries to provide movement.

At the price of $200 plus shipping, it’s an expensive gamble to take. There’s always more assurance when you consult medical professionals about your back pain. Much like the previously reported inversion therapy method, there is no substitute for a doctor.

Fundamentals are key to understanding the cause of your back pain. Diet, stress, medical history, and many other factors are a part of the large picture in understanding the best method in relieving your back pain. Not a 12 minute solution.

Now we have MRI scans and can easily determine whether or not someone actually needs a fusion. At The Minimally Invasive Spine Institute we have taken that a step further and have a pain mapping process that identifies the exact source of the pain so we work only on the pain source and don’t fuse something that doesn’t need to be. The Minimally Invasive Spine Institute performs minimally invasive fusion only as a last resort and with a spinescope and percutaneous techniques with image guidance system without violating the muscle tissues. So no tearing and excess bleeding that leads to a long and painful recovery. The patient will get out of bed the same day and will go home as early as the same day or the next.

An encouraging article from spine-health.com states that the risk of infection after spine surgery is now down to 2%.

A review of more than 108,000 spine surgeries has found the overall risk of superficial or deep wound infections occurring after operation to be 2%, according to research presented from the Scoliosis Research Society at last week’s 24th Annual Meeting of the North American Spine Society.

The article specifically sites minimally invasive procedures have lower rates of infection when compared to surgeries that involve implants, spinal fusion, and follow up spinal procedures.

You can learn more about minimally invasive procedures offered at The Minimally Invasive Spine Institute in Dallas, Texas or click here to read the spine-health.com article.

Click play in the embedded video below or watch the video on YouTube.

1. Literally Lighten Up

Telling a depressed person dealing with chronic pain to look at the bright side of things is a bit naïve. Rather, this first tip details the importance of actually infusing more light in your life during these months when it is typically dark when you wake up and when you leave work, and often more difficult to keep a positive mind.

Consider buying something like a light alarm clock, which features a glowing globe that simulates a rising sun when going off in the morning. This unique invention for people with Seasonal Affective Disorder (also known as SAD, winter depression or winter blues) can kick start the day on a brighter note as opposed to waking up in darkness and feeling as if nothing has changed overnight.

If a light alarm clock sounds a bit too hokey, simply get outdoors. Sure, the winter months are often very cold in many parts of the country, but this does not mean that you should go into hibernation. Whether it’s walking around the block in the morning or going for a 10-15 minute drive, getting some sunlight can be a great source for Vitamin-D, which aids in calcium absorption and helps make the bones stronger.

2. Stay Active

Inactivity is not good for chronic pain, and it can take a toll on your mind, making you feel lethargic and leaving you too much time to think about your pain.

What is often surprising, exercise can actually do wonders for pain by nourishing and repairing spinal structures, keeping the anatomy healthy, flexible and strong, and stimulating the body’s natural healing processes. Whether it’s doing some simple stretching or aerobic exercises every day or even getting out of the house and going to a local community center to swim, activity can at least make the patient feel as if he or she has some control over their pain.

3. Avoid Depressants Like Alcohol

Unfortunately, alcohol is viewed by some people as a means to escape their pain and depression. While alcohol may provide temporary relief, it is actually a depressant when the “buzz” wears off, often making it harder to exercise and be motivated to participate in other beneficial activities, and also affecting sleep in detrimental ways.

While the holidays may offer plenty of moments to indulge yourself with a glass of wine, remember to do so in moderation if you choose to drink. Don’t be embarrassed about passing on a drink and having something healthier, like a glass of orange juice or water.

You can read all of the tips over at spine-health.com