What symptoms would warrant a call to your office?

When your back pain hasn't gone away, or when it's severe enough, you should consider calling right away.

Chronic back pain is defined as pain that lasts longer than 3-6 months. About 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, which can vary from mild to excruciating, episodic to continuous, merely inconvenient or completely incapacitating.

Spinal instability is a term used to describe abnormal movement between 2 vertebrae. The stabilizing system of the spine may be divided into 3 subsystems: the spinal column, the spinal muscles, the neural control unit.

The spine is made of up to 26 vertebrae that are cushioned by discs, which are made from a soft, gelatinous inner portion and a tough outer ring. Spinal disc problems are common and can lead to symptoms of back pain and/or sciatica.

Scoliosis is a common spine issue that occurs most often during the growth spurt just before puberty. It is a sideways curvature of the spine and can be disabling in severe cases. Spinal stenosis is an abnormal narrowing of the spinal canal that may occur in any region of the spine, putting pressure on the spinal cord and/or nerve roots.

A herniated disc is “non-contained” which means that a tear or break is present and a section of the gel-like nucleus pulposus has slipped into the spinal canal while a bulging disc is “contained“, meaning that the outer layer of the disc does not have any tears or ruptures, and no portion of the nucleus has leaked out of the disc.

Pain is a normal part of life but acute pain can sometimes turn into chronic pain, which becomes a problem you need to explore with your physician. There are a number of symptoms you need to take into consideration that may require immediate medical attention.