About Fitness

Get the Lowdown on Lower Back Pain

Chronic, nagging lower back pain. There is nothing worse. Back pain causes sleepless nights, lost hours at work and even disability four out of every five American adults. With stakes this high, chances are pretty good that you will suffer with lower back pain in your lifetime.

When chronic lower back pain occurs, it’s often after a spinal injury such as a strained muscle, sprained ligament or herniated disc. Even after the initial injury has been cured or repaired, the pain still lingers on. Health experts have found that such injuries can sometimes trigger alterations in the nerve cells that transmit signals. The resulting pain, called hypersensitivity, persists long after the initial trauma has been healed.

When this occurs, the chronic lower back pain becomes another disease, and much more than a simple symptom of underlying spinal damage. Hypersensitivity can continue to create recurring bouts of pain, even when there has been no havoc to factor the twinge. Therefore, people who have suffered lower back trauma should be careful to maintain an ongoing rehabilitation program in hopes of avoiding any future painful episodes.

There is an effective, non-surgical treatment method that may offer relief for those suffering with lower back pain. Percutaneous neuromodulation therapy (PNT) brings relief by applying electrical stimulation to the deep tissues in the posterior portion of the body.

This new procedure for relieving chronic lower back pain has recently received clearance by the FDA. PNT is a minimally invasive procedure that can be performed in a regular medical clinic.

If you’re interested in percutaneous nueromodulation therapy, you must meet a certain set of criteria:

* You must be at risk of suffering from long-term, intractable pain.

* Suffer with an ache that radiates from the lower back into your buttocks, legs and feet.

* Are you free of ample pain-relieving medications (including physical therapy or chiropractic manipulation)?

* Would you like a less insidious approach before resorting into a surgical operation?

When your doctor performs PNT, she or he will use several needle electrodes that are designed to reach the nerve pathways that may be impacting the pain. Specialists believe that this type of charged stimulation will aid in restraining the central nervous system that relentlessly ushers in pain.

Expect the PNT session to last for about thirty minutes. You’ll be asked to lie face down on the table. Once you’re in a comfortable position, up to ten PNT electrodes will be applied to specific locations on your lower buttock area. At each point, a fine-gauge filament electrode will reach to a depth of three centimeters. With these electrodes in place, the doctor will adjust the stimulation to distribute the most therapeutic benefits to the patient.

Patients who undergo PNT treatment for lower back pain must complete three or four sessions before evaluating the effectiveness of the procedure. Some patients report experiencing a certain level of relief after a single PNT session, while others require subsequent sessions. The most suitable frequency of PNT treatment for lower back pain will vary with each individual.

Following the application PNT treatment, some patients report overall feeling of wellness, including increased physical activity, a better quality of sleep, improved pain control, reduced levels of disability and a lessened need for pain medications.

Just because you suffer from lower back pain, doesn’t mean that you have to be a slave to the condition. There are effective treatment options, including PNT sessions, which can provide the relief you need to get back on your feet.

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