Here's how to avoid surgery for back pain

A combination of medications and physical therapy can be effective in relieving the discomfort of back pain, thus removing the need for surgery. — TNS

Back pain is one of the most common reasons people seek medical help or miss work.

It is a leading cause of disability worldwide.

Back pain can range from a muscle aching to a shooting, burning or stabbing sensation.

Fortunately, there are measures that can help prevent or relieve most back pain episodes.

If prevention fails, simple home treatment and using the body correctly will often heal the back within a few weeks.

Mayo Clinic neurosurgeon Dr Maziyar Kalani shares that there are ways you can avoid surgery for back pain.

According to him, most back pain can be managed with medications, physical therapy and exercise.

"Our main goal is to try to get you treated non-operatively.

"A majority of people will get improvement with just non-operative, or what we call conservative, therapy," he says.

There are times when surgery for back pain is necessary though.

"We tend to see a lot more of things like pinched spinal cords, pinched nerves, instability of the spine.

"These are things that surgery is quite effective for – of course, after you've really gone on through the non-operative care.

"When you have surgery on your body, it does change your body.

"So we want to make sure that you get a really high return on the invasiveness of the surgery.

"And we try to keep it, of course, as least invasive as possible," he says.

Here's when you should seek medical help for back pain:

• The pain is intense or constant, especially at night or when lying down.
• If the pain spreads down one or both legs, especially below the knee.
• Weakness or numbness in one or both legs.
• Swelling or redness on the back.

For pain after a trauma such as an accident, fall or sports injury, seek immediate medical help or call 999 (or 112 for mobile phones). – By Michael Clayton/Mayo Clinic News Network/Tribune News Service