The Differences In Treatment With Orthopedic Doctors Vs Neurologists
There are a few prominent procedures only each specialty doctor is trained to perform. For instance, only a neurologist is trained to perform surgery inside the dura, the lining of the spinal canal.
For this reason, a neurologist is the best option for treating conditions such as a tethered spinal cord or spinal cord tumor. Conditions such as syringomyelia and Chiari malformation also still fall under the neurologist specialty. On the other hand, such conditions like pediatric and adult scoliosis, spinal deformities, or kyphosis still fall under the realm of an orthopedic doctor.
Today, both types of doctors have developed a friendly working relationship and can work together to provide comprehensive care. Together, they want you to receive treatment for the best end results. But if there are subtle differences in your injuries such as the ones listed above, they would be better addressed by either a neurologist or an orthopedic doctor to achieve the desired outcome and recovery.
AICA Orthopedics employs highly trained, skilled neurologists and orthopedic doctors. Our team strives to provide accurate diagnoses and quality treatment for the source of your injuries or pain.
With knowledge, expertise, and experience, our specialists place patient needs at the top of the priority list in order to provide you specific and individualized care. To learn more about our neurologists and orthopedic doctors, please dont hesitate to .
Natural Ways To Relieve Sciatic Nerve Pain
Ever wake up feeling agonizing pain all the way from your upper thighs to your feet? Do you deal with nagging lower back pain that spreads downward through your buttock and wont seem to quit no matter what you try? You could be dealing with sciatic nerve pain, also called sciatica, which causes painful throbbing in the lower back and limbs. The pain radiates down the body and can be a symptom of spinal stenosis. Its also closely related to piriformis syndrome since the piriformis muscle is near the sciatic nerve.
The problem all starts in the lower spine and can come and go, but one things usually certain when sciatic nerve pain rears its ugly head, youre dealing with a whole lot of discomfort that can quickly ruin your day. Given that the sciatic nerve is the largest single nerve in the body, this makes sense.
The good news is there are remedies for back pain that treat sciatic nerve pain and improve spine health. What are these natural sciatica treatments, and what causes this debilitating lower-body pain? Lets investigate.
What Is The Sciatic Nerve
The sciatic nerve is part of the nervous system and categorized as a major nerve that starts in the lower back, runs down the back of the thigh and branches off just above the knee into smaller nerves that run the length of the legs to the feet. What most people do not realize is that the sciatic nerve has the largest circumference of any nerve in the human body. It is no wonder that when damaged it can cause excruciating pain.
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Why Go To An Orthopedic Doctor For Back Pain
Most us will experience back pain at some point in life. While most back pains resolve on their own or with conservative treatments, some need serious medical attention. Back pain may be a sign of a serious condition, and it will progressively get worse if left untreated.
If your back pain is not getting better and is limiting the activities you can engage in, see an orthopedic doctor. Why go to an orthopedic doctor for back pain? Why cant your primary care physician just treat it? Orthopedic doctors have specialized knowledge, training, and experience in diagnosing, treating, and preventing musculoskeletal pain. While a primary care physician can treat a plethora of health issues, an orthopedic doctor can do it better.
Informed Choice Can Help You Choose A Trustworthy Provider
There are as many choices as there are colors in the rainbow. There are a number of distinct physicians within the medical world that you have a choice from. Internists, family physicians, orthopaedists, neurosurgeons, spine surgeons, physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists, neurologists, anesthesiologists, and even some psychiatrists that treat lower back disorders. There are places that have multiple specialists who treat these disorders as a group.
There are a number of distinct physicians within the medical world that you have a choice from. Photo Source: 123RF.com.There are many types of nonmedical practitioners to choose from, and they vary greatly even within their own specialty. You can go to a chiropractor, physical therapist, massage therapist, athletic trainer, acupuncturist, Feldenkrais or Pilates practitioner, personal trainer, or even an aroma therapist.
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Chiropractor Or Doctor For Back Pain
Back pain is a frustratingly common occurrence in the United States, with nearly 80% of people experiencing back pain sometime in their life, according to the American Chiropractic Association.
If you find yourself experiencing soreness and pain long your spine, it would be best to contact a lower back pain doctor or chiropractor but which one is best for you?
Emergency Room Healthcare Providers
The emergency room is often the go-to destination for people with neck or back pain who need immediate medical attention. This may be due to trauma from car accidents, falls, or gunshot wounds.
Symptoms of cauda equina syndrome, which include loss of bowel or bladder function, or your legs grow progressively weaker, are also reasons to seek emergency care.
If you don’t actually need to see a healthcare provider immediately, it’s best to schedule an appointment with your provider’s office.
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Your Primary Care Doctor Has Recommended You See A Spine Specialist
If youre like most people, when you first develop a medical concern, you make an appointment with your primary care doctor. And this is a good first step. Your primary care physician can perform a physical exam, order imaging studies, and diagnose and treat sciatica. But if your case is more complex, you may be referred to a spine surgeon. Keep in mind, seeing a surgeon doesnt mean you will definitely require surgery. Its just the next step in the process of finding the best treatment plan for you.
Who Is The Best Doctor For Spine Surgery
Many years ago, neurosurgeons were primarily responsible for spine surgery, but in the past 20 to 25 years spine surgery has evolved so that both neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons specialize in spine surgery, and for most of the typical spine operations both types of surgeons are equally well qualified.
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You Have Unexplained Weight Loss
If you experience sudden weight loss that can’t be explained by diet and lifestyle changes, then you should always pay attention to what your body is telling you. This is especially true when the unexplained weight loss is accompanied by back pain. See your doctor to rule out the possibility of a more severe condition, such as an infection or tumor.
What Doctor Should I See For Knee Pain
Do you have swelling and stiffness in your knees? Is the knee pain accompanied by a general sensation of weakness or instability? Can you hear some popping sounds in your knees when you walk? These are all signs and symptoms of knee pain and its an indication that you should probably see a knee pain doctor soon.
Knee pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal issues that affects all kinds of people in the world. You experience when some part of your knee joint, be it your muscles, tendons, ligaments, or bones, get fractured, injured, or develop other diseases. Knee pain may be acute if its caused by knee injuries. However, in some cases, knee pain can also be chronic, which means that it will only get worse with time.
If you experience extreme knee pain or fever, its possible youre suffering from chronic knee pain caused by issues like osteoarthritis, ptllfmrl n syndrome, tllr tndn, knee bursitis, iliotibial band syndrome, or chondromalacia patella. If youre suffering from any of these issues, its vital that you visit a good knee pain doctor.
Furthermore, its important to visit the right knee pain doctor. Some doctors will simply prescribe opioids that will provide temporary relief but wont actually cure the problem. Some doctors will jump straight to surgeries, which can be dangerous. Its necessary to find a good knee pain doctor who can diagnose the root cause of knee pain and treat it specifically.
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Specialists Who Treat Back Pain
There are many types of health practitioners that care for patients with spinal conditions, and each has a slightly different role. Selection of the most appropriate type of health professional – or team of health professionals – largely depends on the patient’s symptoms and the length of time the symptoms have been present.
The different types of health professionals who treat back pain tend to have varied training and interests. While it is common to start off with a primary care provider , if the patient’s back pain is resistant to initial treatment then the services of a spine specialist may be necessary.
When Back Pain Is Serious: How To Tell What To Do
Most adults will experience back pain at some point. One of the most common medical complaints is lower back pain.
Typically, back pain is muscular in nature and short-term, often caused by strain from lifting heavy objects or sudden movement, says UH orthopedic specialist Zachary Gordon, MD. More serious back and spine problems may be caused by nerves, joints and discs, he says.
Most back pain will resolve on its own within a few weeks. Home care, including over-the-counter pain relievers, heat, ice and rest can help. If back pain doesnt subside and is disrupting daily activities or sleep, you should see a doctor. A primary care physician may help in cases where pain is caused by strain or mild injury.
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You’re Running A Fever
The flu can definitely make you run a fever and achiness, including in your back. However, if the fever is unresponsive to standard OTC medications, you could have a serious infection that needs treatment immediately. If you go to a doctor and they find an infection, they may prescribe antibiotics and a few days rest.
How Is Sciatica Affecting Your Quality Of Life
Sciatica pain may extend all the way from the lower back, through the back of your thigh, to your foot. The pain can come and go, sometimes lingering for days and even weeks. This may cause anything from mild discomfort to making the simplest tasks intolerable. Sitting could be painful with sciatica and driving even more so. Not to mention playing sports and being active.
As you contemplate surgery for sciatica, consider how much the pain affects your quality of life. If your work, hobbies, social life or relationships suffer from your being in constant pain, it may be time to think about surgery.
Although sciatica starts as nerve inflammation, it may eventually progress to nerve damage. If the sciatic nerve is damaged, it could result in numbness, tingling and, in more severe cases, weakness in the knees or legs. The longer it is left untreated, the longer it will take for numbness and weakness to go away, and they may become permanent.
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Family Doctor Or General Practitioner
Most back pain problems are first addressed in the office of an individuals general practitioner or primary care doctor. This is because it is often a pain problem that goes on for a length of time prior to the individual asking for help with it.
The most likely course of treatment if your family doctor is prescribing it will be medication therapy and/or physical therapy regimens. Your general practitioner will likely not be as well appraised of treatments for specific back pain problems as their specialist counterparts, so they might opt to order some tests to confirm their suspicions and then use those findings to refer you to one of the specialists listed below.
Treatment For Testicular Pain
Im going to assume that youve had a normal exam, imaging tests and have never had a vasectomy. This leads us to our diagnosis of chronic testicular pain .
First and foremost, we recommend viewing this condition like headaches and backaches. Most headaches arent due to brain cancer. Most backaches dont require a visit to the spine surgeon. They are musculoskeletal in nature.
When muscles and nerves are irritated, most exams are normal. Unfortunately quick fixes are not always possible.
Here are some options for treating chronic testicular pain:
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Back Exercises And Stretches
Simple back exercises and stretches can often help reduce back pain. These can be done at home as often as you need to.
For information about exercises and stretches that can help, see:
A GP may be able to provide information about back exercises if you’re unsure what to try, or you may want to consider seeing a physiotherapist for advice. Read about how to get access to physiotherapy.
Doing regular exercise alongside these stretches can also help keep your back strong and healthy. Activities such as walking, swimming, yoga and pilates are popular choices.
A Recent Study On Chiropractic Care For Low Back Pain
A 2018 study published in JAMA Network Open is among the latest to weigh in on the pros and cons of chiropractic care for treating low back pain. Researchers enrolled 750 active-duty military personnel who complained of back pain. Half were randomly assigned to receive usual care while the other half received usual care plus up to 12 chiropractic treatments.
After six weeks of treatment, those assigned to receive chiropractic care:
- reported less pain intensity
- experienced less disability and more improvement in function
- reported higher satisfaction with their treatment
- needed less pain medicine.
While no serious side effects were reported, about 10% of those receiving chiropractic care described adverse effects . Five percent of those receiving usual care had similar complaints.
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Who Should I Go To For My Sciatica
Sciatica is not a disease or a diagnosis. It is a symptom of an underlying medical condition. The term is used to describe nerve pain, tingling, numbness and weakness that travels from the lower back, across the buttocks, down the back of the thighs to the calves and feet.
It occurs when the sciatic nerve the longest in the body gets compacted or aggravated. Common conditions that cause sciatica include herniated lumbar discs, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, and spondylolisthesis.
Sciatica pain can vary from periodic and mildly inconvenient to constant and incapacitating. Symptoms depend on the location of the nerve impingement or irritation and may include:
- Symptoms intensify during sudden movements or changing positions
- Constant pain in one side of the buttock or leg
- Sharp pain in one leg making it difficult to stand up or walk
- Pain originates in the lower back or buttock and continues along the path of the sciatic nerve
- Pain lessens when lying down or walking but increases when standing or sitting
- Pain is burning, tingling, or searing
- Pain radiates down the leg and possibly into the foot and toes
- Lower back pain is not as severe as leg pain
- A pins-and-needles or prickling sensation, numbness or weakness down the leg
Sciatica is rare among young people. It tends to start appearing in middle age, between the ages of 40 to 50.
Common Causes Of Back Pain
Two of the most common reasons for back pain are muscle strains or ligament sprains. and bad posture can put on your back and make it hurt. and other changes in your spine as you get older can cause back pain. More serious causes of the condition include a ruptured disc or . Possible causes of back pain include:
-
, when the soft center of spinal disc slips out of place
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, a disease that thins and weakens bones including the vertebrae
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, a bone infection
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, arthritis in the spine
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Sacroiliitis, inflammation of the joint between the pelvis and lower spine
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Types Of Knee Pain Doctors
Knee pain doctors can come from various different fields of medicine such as anesthesiologists, physiatrists, neurosurgeons, podiatrists, neurologists, primary care physicians, or orthopedic surgeons.
However, broadly speaking, if you are wondering what kind of doctor for knee pain exists, there are three knee pain specialists palliative care specialists, interventional pain and spine specialists, and chronic pain specialists.
As you can see, there are a lot of options when it comes to what doctor to see for knee pain. But you should look for interventional pain specialists because theyre the only ones who can truly diagnose the root cause of your knee pain and provide long-term relief. An interventional pain specialist will use imaging tests like X-Rays, CT scans, and MRIs to determine the root cause of knee pain.
What Kind Of Doctor Do I See For Back Pain
There are many doctors to see for back pain, so it can be confusing to find the one who would most effectively solve your problems a back doctor vs. chiropractor.
Broadly speaking, the doctors who can help alleviate your spine problems fall into the following categories:
- primary care providers
- back pain doctors
- therapists.
When youre back gets seized up in a fit of debilitating pain, a primary care provider will be the first person you should call. This group would include lower back pain chiropractors, primary care physicians, and doctors of osteopathic medicine.
These doctors assess the causes and remedies to your spine and would help if you have multiple pain locations that expand outside your spine.
The second group spine specialists mainly deal with issues concerning spinal conditions. They deal with back pain but are trained to understand the intricacies of the central nervous system.
Should you need surgery on your spine, spine surgeons have the expertise to handle that fragile organ with little harm done to you. Physiatrists, neurologists, anesthesiologists, and rheumatologists also reside in this category.
Finally, Therapists help rehabilitate mobility and function after back injury or surgery. Should something go wrong in operation, and you need extra time to recuperate, a physical therapist, occupational therapist, and clinical psychologist in this field would be your best friend.
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