Acute Back Pain

         Acute back pain may be due to muscle sprain leading to muscle spasm.  This may occur after twisting the body, lifting heavy objects in a wrong way or falling on your back.  The pain can be mild or severe.  The back pain usually gets less and less even without treatment.  Hot showers, massage and rest may hasten recovery.  If the pain gets worse instead of getting better, then you should see a doctor.  It may be due to something serious.

          Acute back pain may also be due to Herniated Discs or Bulging Discs.  The sudden pain may follow after a twisting of body, lifting, pulling or pushing heavy objects in a wrong way.  It may follow car accidents or work related accidents.  The back pain may be associated with pain that goes to the buttocks, thigh, leg and even to the foot.  It may also occur spontaneously without any activity at all.  A person may wake up with the sudden pain which they did not have when they went to sleep.

          As stated in the Journal of  Pain Digest, it has been scientifically proven that the pain from Herniated Discs or Bulging Discs is due to the leakage of its contents, which causes severe inflammation within the spine and irritates the nerves that go to the buttocks, thigh, leg and foot.  This pain is called Sciatica.  The herniated discs or bulging discs contain very high levels of a substance called Phospholipase A-2, which is very inflammatory.  The sudden pain is due to the leakage of this substance when the wall of the disc breaks.  As stated in the New England Journal of Medicine,  many people without back pain have abnormalities noted including herniated discs when MRI of their lumbar spine was done.  It is when this herniated disc or bulging disc leaks that pain begins.

          Most people with this acute back pain will get better without treatment.  The pain will get less and less.  It may be gone completely within two to four weeks.  Bed rest and anti-inflammatory drugs may help.  If pain does not get less and instead gets worse, then you should see a doctor.  There is no need to suffer.  Epidural injections can neutralize this inflammation, alleviate your pain and help you get better quicker.

          When done by a highly experienced and skilled doctor, epidural injections are painless.  Dr. Castillo has done more than 20,000 procedures safely.  The procedure is done using fluoroscopy in a state of the art hospital pain management suite. Intravenous sedation is also available for those patients who are very nervous.  The hospital will send a complimentary car service  to bring you from your house to the hospital and back home.