Arthritis of the spine is very common and is a normal process of aging. There are, however, a number of effective treatments which are available. These may include medication, physical therapy, and/or the injection of epidural steroids. If all these fail, surgery can be an option for some patients. It is not something that absolutely has to be lived with without treatment.
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Not always; can be treated by physical therapy.
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Yes and no. There is no cure for arthritis! Therefore, if spine pain is a result of arthritis, then there will be permanent discomfort contributable to arthritis for the remainder of your life. However, arthritis causes secondary changes in the spine such as spinal stenosis and spinal instability. These secondary changes can cause significant pain and discomfort that affect your quality of life. There are many conservative and surgical treatments for these secondary changes. Regardless, a commitment to alter your life forever with emphasis on caring for your back is mandatory.
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Learning to live with the arthritis is certainly most commonly recommended, but that need not always mean learning to live with the pain. For example, often a consistent exercise program will significantly reduce or even eliminate the pain. If excess weight is a problem, that may contribute to the pain caused by the spinal arthritis. Sometimes, reducing excess weight will make the problem significantly more tolerable. In some instances, a medication such as an anti-inflammatory drug may provide dramatic relief. (Of course, don't take any medication without discussing with your physician). If the pain does not respond to the above measures, and is of great enough intensity, you may need to be evaluated by a specialist (if you haven't already done so).
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Most people suffer with back pain during their lifetime. Eight out of 10 people develop back pain at some point in their life and it is the leading cause of missed work or lost workdays. For patients who cannot find improvement through nonoperative treatment, there are a multitude of surgical treatments that may offer relief from spine related pain.
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Non spinal specialists frequently refer to the changes associated with stenosis and degeneration of the spine as arthritis. In actuality this is more accurately described as Spondylosis. When painful it should be treated similarly to the other painful spinal conditions.
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Arthritis of the spine is another way of describing disc degeneration or facet arthritis. It may also be called spondylosis. By whatever name, it is a slowly progressive condition for which there is no cure. Luckily the symptoms when they occur are usually transient and self-limited. The best treatment is preventative in the way of exercise and maintaining an active lifestyle. When the symptoms become disabling, surgery can be helpful if the source of the pain can be clearly identified and modern surgical techniques are utilized.
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Most all pain coming from the spine can be resolved. This may take a very extensive evaluation, however, to figure out exactly where the pain is coming from. Once the specific source of the pain is delineated, techniques to diminish the pain are usually very successful.
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Arthritis is a general term used for wear and tear of the joints of the lumbar spine. These include first and foremost the intervertebral disc but also the facets. Either or both of these joints can become degenerative over time and can cause pain. An individual does not simply need to live with this condition. Many medications, treatments and surgeries are available to help the patient with back pain due to arthritis.
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Arthritis of the spine can cause both leg and back pain. If back pain is the main symptom, then it is true that no definitive treatment exists. Backaches from arthritis can usually be managed with medication, exercises, and, in rare cases, a back brace. Surgery is generally not helpful for back pain caused by arthritis.
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Today there are many treatment options for patients with spinal arthritis. Some options are nonsurgical and include pain management. Other options are surgical. One does not have to "learn to live with the pain."
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No, that's not true. In 2003, we can offer a multitude of conservative and surgical treatment options to a patient with arthritis of the spine.
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For the most part yes. Most patients of degenerative arthritis do not require surgery.
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Many people with LBP have underlying degenerative disease, or "arthritis", as the source of their pain. Some patients have such mild symptoms they opt to have no treatment. But if the pain is bothersome, one does not have to "live with it". Most patients who exercise properly get good relief of their pain. Others use NSAIDs. On rare occasions, surgery is indicated. It is unusual for a patient to get no improvement from proper treatment.
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Arthritis of the spine is very common and most people do "learn to live with it" if the pain is mild and occasional. If however, the pain is severe or debilitating then the patient should be referred to a spine specialist for evaluation and treatment.
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Arthritis of the spine is very common. With new medical technology, the pain of arthritis can be helped with small procedures. However, the type of procedure depends on the problem. If a patient can live with the pain, that is the best option. However, if the pain is severe or if there is progressive weakness or bowel and bladder problems, surgery should be considered.
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Not necessarily. A full evaluation by a spinal surgeon will more likely answer that question in a definitive way. Many painful spinal conditions are more treatable today than they ever have been. In many cases, people need not feel doomed to live their lives under the dark cloud of pain. Help is available.
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Generally, the pain associated with arthritis can be managed with conservative therapies, such as exercise and medication.
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If arthritis of the spine is multi-level and is causing back pain only, there is no good definitive treatment. Most of these patients do need to learn to live with their symptoms but can control them with the use of exercise, physical therapy, and occasionally a brace.
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Arthritis of the spine is a term for degenerative disc disease or facet arthropathy. In general, this basically consists of changes to the spine, which are associated with bone spurs. Spinal stenosis is the most common, and its symptoms include low back pain or pain when you perform any type of activities. Most people elect to treat this pain conservatively, but in the event that the symptoms progress and you start having neurological deficits, it is important to try and identify the main area where your nerves are being compressed or irritated, and see if a decompression and stabilization of the spine helps. If you have degenerative disc disease and generalized arthritis of the spine, certainly the spine cannot be replaced, so to get some relief requires localizing the area where your symptoms are coming from.
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It may or may not be true. It depends on the severity of the pain, how much it limits your life, how active you are, and your general health. Generally there is a way to decrease pain in most patients and that may ultimately require surgery, but more often it doesn't.
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I think the best treatment for arthritis is to avoid surgery if possible. So, I would say the primary treatment should be physical therapy, anti-inflammatories, and maybe pain management. But if those treatments do not work, then I don't think you have to necessarily learn to live with the pain. There are surgical options that can treat arthritis and in fact, sometimes with diagnoses like rheumatoid arthritis; it is not safe to learn to live with the pain. You should have surgery performed. But everyone, each patient is an individual and you have to judge by the severity of how much pain they are having and what other treatments the y have undergone.
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Today there are many treatment options for patients with spinal arthritis. Some options are nonsurgical and some options are surgical. One does not have to "learn to live with the pain."
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Pain is a subjective complaint. The only person who experiences the pain is the individual patient. I believe any doctor whose recommendation to the patient is to live with the pain is not providing appropriate medical advice. There are multitudes of treatments for back pain, all of which have a history of helping certain people. I don't believe any one treatment helps everybody, including surgery. In general, the best treatments for back pain include an active exercise program strengthening the abdominal and back muscles and stretching. This can be accomplished with physical therapy, Med-X programs, and Pilates. Other treatments for chronic back pain certainly worth exploring include chiropractic, magnets, acupuncture, rolfing, traction devices, back braces, lumbar supports at work, home and in the automobile, and special lumbar support pillows for sleep. Heat and ice are excellent treatments with few side effects, being careful not to burn your skin.
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It is normal to develop some arthritis as we age and this can lead to small amounts of pain in the back. When you develop arthritis of the spine, if the symptoms are well controlled and do not inhibit your lifestyle, it is worthwhile to live with the mild amount of pain. If the pain becomes more severe and leads to incapacitating problems, which significantly interfere with your life, treatment should be instituted. No patient should have to live with that amount of pain. In these situations, surgery is appropriate.
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