When you have back pain, the goals of treatment are to make you feel better and to get you moving freely and easily again.Your treatment options will depend on where your pain is and whether it’s acute — sharp and sudden, caused by something specific — or chronic — lasting more than 6 months, perhaps lingering after an injury or illness has healed.Unless you can’t move at all because of an injury,
your doctor probably will test your range of motion, check how your nerves are working, and press on your back to zero in on the problem area. You might have blood and urine tests to rule out other problems, like an infection or a kidney stone.
Doctors generally use imaging tests for checking out ongoing pain, if your back was hit by something, when you also have a fever, or you have nerve problems such as weak or numb arms or legs, too:
- X-rays help pinpoint broken bones or other trouble with your spine.
- An MRI or CT scan can show your doctor what’s going on with soft-tissue damage, such as a herniated disk.
- An electromyogram (EMG) helps find nerve and muscle damage.
