The spine really is a fascinating fundamental piece of the body. It performs a lot of functions but also has a lot of vulnerabilities. The spine is made up of 24 different bones that are connected to ligaments and muscles that create your spinal column. This entire column gives your body its form and function and it also houses and protects the spinal cord. The spinal cord and column play an essential role in the everyday movements and functions of the body. When you consider this it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that over 19 million people a year visit a professional back doctor because they are experiencing back pain. It is not uncommon to experience back pain from time to time, but when should you really start to worry about it?
Persistent Pain That Shoots To The Arms And Legs
In most cases, back pain will go away with a little rest, exercise, or over the counter medications. However, if you are dealing with pain that has lasted over two weeks, you should consider seeing a professional. If the pain is shooting down to your arms and legs and starting to prevent you from performing daily tasks, you need to start worrying and seek out a further evaluation from New Jersey’s top spine specialist.
Unresponsive Fever Accompanied By Back Pain
It is entirely possible that a cold or flu could make your back achy or tight. However, if you are experiencing an unresponsive fever that is accompanied by back pain it could also be the first signs of a very serious infection. If you are dealing with an infection you will need doctor prescribed antibiotics to eliminate the infection. Acquiring and taking the antibiotics will help any specialist rule out if the infection is causing the pain or if there is another underlying condition causing the pain.
Serious Trauma
If you have recently been involved in a serious accident like a fall or a vehicle crash and you start to experience back pain it could be possible that you are dealing with some kind of trauma. It could be minor or it could be major. This is even true if the pain isn’t severe at first. Just falling down a few steps when you are older could cause a fracture. In these cases, the doctor will probably take an X-ray and administer medication. If there is a fracture present it is likely that you might have to undergo surgery.
Numbness Or Tingling
It is true that most of the time numbness and tingling in the back, arms, or legs can be cured with over the counter medication. However, this is something that you want to brush off because it could potentially mean that you are dealing with some kind of nerve irritation or damage. If the pins and needles feelings don’t go away it is possible that you could be dealing with several issues. These issues could be anything from a herniated disc to spinal stenosis. When these conditions are left unchecked they can later lead to major disabilities.