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Dr. Naval Parikh: Back Injuries Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Back injuries are one of the most common types of injuries in people over the age of 50. They’re also a leading reason why people go to see their physician. Back pain is not just something that happens to older adults, however; it can happen at any stage in life, and sometimes even children experience back pain.

In this article we will discuss what back injuries are, how they happen, the symptoms you may experience if you have been injured and how Dr. Naval Parikh can help treat your injury.

What are Back Injuries?

Back injuries are also known as back pain or spine injury. These occur when the bones, muscles, nerves or other tissues of the back are damaged due to an accident, poor posture over a long period of time (such as sitting hunched at a computer all day), disease, genetics, or aging. Back injuries can cause mild discomfort that goes away over time, or they can cause pain that limits your ability to stand or move.

Types of Back Injuries

There are several different types of back injuries. If you’re experiencing pain in your neck, mid-back or lower back, Dr. Naval Parikh will need to know where the injury is located before he can provide an accurate diagnosis and begin treatment for it.

Some common injuries include:

  1. Strain – A strain occurs when one or more of the muscles in your back are stretched too far. Strain can be caused by an awkward movement or lifting something heavy, but it can also happen over time due to poor posture (sitting hunched at a computer all day).
  2. Sprain – A sprain occurs when one or more ligaments that connect bones are stretched beyond their capacity.
  3. Fracture – A fracture occurs when a bone in your back is broken due to an injury such as twisting or bending the wrong way or being hit with great force from behind or above.
  4. Rupture – A rupture occurs when a disc in between the vertebrae or joints of your spine is damaged.
  5. Herniated disc – A herniated disc occurs when one of the discs in your spine pushes out from between two vertebrae.
  6. Pinched nerve – A pinched nerve is caused by pressure on a spinal nerve root, which can occur due to an injury or if there is a narrowing of the spaces where nerves pass through and out of the spinal column.

Causes of Back injuries

  1. Accidents – Back injuries can happen in many different ways, including slipping or falling downstairs; being hit by a car while riding your bike; tripping over the dog and landing on the coffee table (ouch!); getting injured at work when lifting something heavy; etc.
  2. Poor Posture – A lot of back pain is caused by poor posture, which can happen when you sit at a computer all day and lean forward while wearing a lower back support.
  3. Diseases – Some diseases that can cause back injuries to include osteoporosis and arthritis, which both make it easier for your bones to fracture; diabetes; kidney disease; etc.
  4. Genetics – Back injuries caused by genetics are often referred to as spondylitis or spondyloarthropathy (which is a disease of the joints near the spine).
  5. Aging – As we age, our bones can become more brittle and less dense. This process begins in the late 30s or early 40s and gets worse with time, leading to an increased risk of fracture and back injury as we get older.
  6. Other – Other types of back injuries include those caused by tumors, infections, compression fractures from osteoporosis, and spinal stenosis.

Symptoms of Back Injuries

The symptoms of back injuries vary depending on the type and severity of the injury. Symptoms can be mild or severe and usually last for a few days to several weeks until they start getting better on their own. Some symptoms are:

  1. Pain in neck, mid-back, or lower back.
  2. Pain in one or both legs.
  3. Pain that radiates into your buttocks, groin, or thighs.

Some common symptoms include:

  1. Mild pain – This is often experienced as muscle soreness and stiffness in your lower back that comes on after strenuous activity.
  2. Moderate pain – This is often experienced as an intense sharp or shooting pain that goes down the back of your leg to your foot when you bend forward, twist, lift something heavy or stand for extended periods.
  3. Severe pain – This includes any type of chronic lower back pain with no known cause.
  4. Numbness – This is often experienced as a tingling or “pins and needles” sensation in your leg(s) that can be felt during certain activities, such as standing for long periods or going to the bathroom at night.
  5. Weakness – You might have trouble getting out of bed due to lower back pain that makes it difficult to stand up straight, or you may have trouble going down a flight of stairs if your back is weak on one side.
  6. Behavioral changes – You might feel depressed and/or anxious about the way things are going with your health if you experience some of these symptoms due to lack of mobility, etc.

Treatment of Back Injuries By Dr. Naval Parikh:

Dr. Naval Parikh will take a thorough history and physical examination to diagnose your back injury and determine the best course of treatment for it. Here are some of the options he may discuss with you:

Medication

Some options for medication include over counter painkillers, steroid injections, and muscle relaxants. These medications are intended to help with back injuries that involve inflammation or some type of damage to your nerves.

Prescription Medicine

If you have a herniated disc in your spine then this is probably the best way to treat your pain. Your doctor will usually prescribe you some form of opioid-based medication that is intended for acute pain, such as oxycodone or morphine.

Corticosteroids

These are injected into the spine to help reduce inflammation and swelling around any nerve damage due to a pinched spinal nerve root.

Physical Therapy

This can be very helpful for back injuries to strengthen the muscles and/or stretch out any tightness that keeps your spine from moving correctly. A physical therapist might use modalities such as ice, heat, or ultrasound in addition to deep tissue massage, soft tissue mobilization (massage), and muscle stimulation (electrical stimulation).

Surgery

If the pain from your back injury isn’t getting better after you’ve tried everything else then surgery might be required. The type of surgery that is recommended for your case will depend on what exactly is causing your back injuries, how bad they are, and where they’re located. Some common surgeries include discectomy or laminectomy.

Spinal Fusion

This is a type of surgery that involves connecting two or more bones using hardware such as rods and screws in order to stabilize your spine after an injury, degenerative disc disease, or scoliosis. It’s also used when you have multiple vertebrae out of place from something like a car accident, for example.

Spinal Cord Stimulation

This is a type of surgery that involves implanting an electrode near your spinal cord and running it up to the nerve root where it gets attached using wires under your skin on your back, chest or upper butt cheek area (abdomen). The goal is for this device to provide pain relief by stimulating the nerve that’s causing your back pain.

Why Dr. Naval Parikh is the Best Doctor For Back Injuries?

When you need the best doctor for Back injuries treatment, Dr. Naval Parikh is here to help take care of your back injury with his expertise and experience. He will provide excellent medical care during your recovery so that you can start living a life free from pain without worrying about getting hurt again.

Dr. Naveen Parikh is currently accepting new patients who are looking for the best doctor for the treatment of Back Injuries. Dr. Naval Parikh’s goal is to provide the highest quality medical care and to make every patient feel comfortable with Dr. Parikh as their healthcare provider.

Dr. Naveen Parikh is a board-certified internist that works in the Boca Raton/Deerfield Beach area. Dr. Parikh normally sees patients at his office located in Boca Raton, Florida.

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Naval Parikh Clinic:

Address: 1 West Sample Road, Suite 201. Deerfield Beach, Florida. 33064.

Phone : (954) 782-3170