Not all spine specialists are surgeons. After visiting your primary care physician, you may learn surgery is not the best option for you. Physiatrists treat both acute and chronic back pain. Treatment is aimed at improving pain to restore function, not just treating pain merely to have the pain go away. While physiatrists do not perform surgery, they train with spine surgeons and physical therapists during residency, allowing them to understand the many different treatment options for back pain.
Most pain medicine physicians are trained in either anesthesiology or physiatry and complete an additional year of fellowship training in pain medicine. As the name suggests, the focus of pain medicine is to alleviate pain from a variety of causes. While addressing your back pain, you may be referred to a radiologist as well. Some radiologists are trained to perform many of the interventional spine procedures, but they typically focus on performing procedures and not evaluating and treating patients in an office setting.
To best treat back pain, a comprehensive, team-based approach is most successful. With the help of your provider, be sure to find most appropriate treatment for your lifestyle and health needs. Options may include:. You will likely see a rheumatologist as a result of a referral from your family doctor. For spinal and back pain issues that seem to have neurological implications , your GP might recommend you see a specialist such as a neurologist or a neurosurgeon.
These types of doctors will help to treat or surgically repair disorders or injuries that relate to the brain, spine, and also the peripheral nervous system. These issues can cause back pain that you might find difficult to cope with. In the event of chronic or severe back pain, many individuals tend to prefer to see osteopathic or holistic specialists. These types of doctors and professionals include osteopathic physicians and chiropractic specialists.
They then will prefer to treat pain problems medically, but with an additional emphasis on the potential lifestyle and environmental factors which may be contributing to the pain problem. Chiropractors are trained in the proper alignment of the spine and may be able to provide some of the most immediate relief to back pain problems.
This is done through periodic adjustments and treatments that attempt to maintain alignment and prevent further pain issues. Regardless of the specifics of your back pain problems, it is essential that you obtain help and begin the path to treatment and relief. The team of spine and orthopedic doctors at AICA Orthopedics specializes in many of the disorders and issues which cause debilitating back pain for our patients. According to a study published in Spine Journal.
Other than taking your medical history and giving you a physical exam, which are two staples of spine diagnosis, the study found that even as new recommendations were published by leading medical organizations, healthcare providers did not adopt them into their practices.
Because of this, taking a pro-active approach when shopping for spine care may be helpful to you. One way to do this is to research possible diagnostic and treatment options before seeking the healthcare provider. Asking pointed questions while you're at your appointment is another way. Pediatricians provide diagnosis and treatment for a range of childhood health problems including back pain and injuries.
A pediatrician is the family healthcare provider for a child from birth until the early adult years. If your child's spine condition requires a specialist, your pediatrician will likely refer you. 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. An orthopedic healthcare provider is a board-certified surgeon who specializes in problems—from head to toe—of the musculoskeletal system. This includes, of course, the spine. An orthopedist might address conditions such as ruptured discs, scoliosis or other types of neck or low back pain.
Some of the surgeries performed by orthopedic surgeons can also be done by neurosurgeons see below. Examples of such procedures include spinal fusion, discectomies, and more. A rheumatologist is a board-certified healthcare provider who treats many forms of arthritis. A sizeable percentage of rheumatologists specialize in inflammatory arthritis; in the spine, this type of disease manifests as ankylosing spondylitis and related conditions.
Seeing a rheumatologist for spinal stenosis which is a progressed form of osteoarthritis is not out of the question. But in general, a rheumatologist sees patients who have symptoms of sacroiliitis, axial spondylosis, ankylosing spondylitis, and related issues. A neurologist is a specialist who diagnoses and treats problems with the nervous system.
For example, Parkinson's disease, other disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. A neurologist might be chosen if your back or neck pain is chronic and longstanding, as they are an expert in the origins of pain.
A neurologist does not perform spine surgery; instead, they will examine how well your nerves function, prescribe medication, and refer you to on to another specialist, as appropriate. A neurologist can be a medical healthcare provider MD or another licensed practitioner.
A neurosurgeon specializes in diseases and conditions of the central nervous system, and the nerves that branch out from the spine called the peripheral nervous system. A neurosurgeon might perform surgery on the brain, the spinal cord, or on the spine itself. While neurosurgeons do provide non-surgical management of back pain, in most cases, you'll be referred to one only after you've exhausted all your conservative care options. An osteopath is board-certified healthcare provider who, by oath, is bound to work in a patient-centric, holistic way.
Becoming a Doctor of Osteopathy DO requires graduation from an accredited medical school, taking the same curriculum as an MD, plus to hours of study focusing on the musculoskeletal system. After medical school, a DO then completes an internship and residency program usually alongside MDs , passes state licensing exams, and usually obtains certification in a specialty.
Many osteopaths practice as primary care healthcare providers. While osteopaths are licensed to prescribe drugs and perform minor surgeries, they often look to the environment and lifestyle and perform hands-on manipulation when caring for patients. Another type of holistically minded provider, the physiatrist is a board-certified healthcare provider specializing in physical functioning. This growing sub-specialty provides rehabilitation for all kinds of conditions and injuries from stroke to low back pain, athletic injuries and more.
Quite often, the physiatrist will coordinate a patient's team of specialists, ensuring a treatment plan that effectively addresses your specific medical needs. You might understand a physiatrist as a physical therapy MD.
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