Back Pain

Chronic back pain caused by arthritis or a herniated disc can be difficult to manage without expert medical care. At Union Anesthesia Associates, with offices in Union, Scotch Plains, Bloomfield, South Bound Brook, New Brunswick, Old Bridge, and Woodbridge, New Jersey, comprehensive pain management is available to treat chronic back pain. The experienced physicians use nonsurgical treatments like nerve blocks and corticosteroid injections for lasting pain relief. They also offer laser spine surgery and spinal cord stimulation. Call the Union Anesthesia Associates office nearest you today to schedule a back pain evaluation or book an appointment online.

What causes back pain?

Acute back pain typically lasts less than six weeks and can be caused by tension or strains in the muscles that support your spine.

Chronic back pain lasts three months or longer and could be a symptom of an underlying spine injury. Spine diseases and disorders that affect your lumbar (lower back), cervical (neck), or thoracic (midback) spine can also be the source of chronic back pain.

These conditions include:

• Fractures
• Herniated discs
• Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Radiculopathy (pinched nerve)
• Degenerative disc disease
• Spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal)
• Facet joint pain 

Some medical conditions, like urinary tract infections (UTIs) and kidney stones, can cause pain that radiates into your back.

Union Anesthesia Associates offers customized pain management to people with chronic back pain. The experienced specialists focus on nonsurgical therapies to ease back pain, improve your spine’s function, and enhance your quality of life.

When should I seek medical attention for back pain?

Schedule a diagnostic evaluation at Union Anesthesia Associates for back pain that doesn’t ease with lifestyle changes and over-the-counter medication.

You should also seek a diagnosis if you have back pain that continues to get worse, limits you physically, or radiates from your back into your hips, shoulders, arms, or legs.

The pain management specialists complete a physical exam of your spine. They could order X-rays and other diagnostic imaging to identify the cause of your back pain. They also offer minimally invasive diagnostic tests like nerve blocks to find the origin point of your pain.

How is back pain treated?

Union Anesthesia Associates offers customized treatment plans for chronic back pain that don’t respond to over-the-counter medications. The team could prescribe anti-inflammatories or pain relievers to increase your comfort so that you can participate in daily exercises or physical therapy.

When back pain is severe, you might need nonsurgical treatments like:

• Corticosteroid injections
• Facet joint blocks
• Nerve root blocks
• Radiofrequency ablation

The team also provides minimally invasive spine surgery to remove herniated discs or repair fractures. In some cases, they recommend spinal cord stimulation. This treatment uses low currents of electrical energy to prevent spinal nerve signals from traveling to your brain.

Call the Union Anesthesia Associates office near you today to schedule a diagnostic evaluation for back pain, or book your appointment online.