Back Injury Treatment Specialists in NJ

Last updated: Oct 6, 2021

Back Injury

No matter how careful or fit you are, a back injury can happen at any time — in a car accident or sports injury. You can twist awkwardly and hurt your back. When the pain strikes, come into Redefine Healthcare in northeastern New Jersey for top-quality care. Let a pain management specialist eliminate your pain while addressing its root cause. Call today for a consultation with the pain doctor in NJ Dr. Freeman and immediate care.

Common back injuries can either be acute and short-term or chronic and long-term. Acute pain can last for a few days to several weeks. Chronic pain persists for months, making the cause more difficult to determine. Once your pain lasts more than 12 weeks, it’s considered chronic pain.

Back injuries can cause a dull ache or a sharp pain in your back. You can hurt your back in many ways and many locations, including your upper back, middle back or lower back. The older you get, the easier it is to get hurt, but a back injury can happen to anyone at any age — particularly to active adults.

Keep your back strong through doctor-approved exercises. Practice body-conscious lifting and watch your posture. These precautions can help you avoid back injuries. But if you do hurt your back, visit the pain management experts at the pain center in NJ Redefine Healthcare, with four locations in northeastern New Jersey.

The Many Ways You Can Injure Your Back

Your central nervous system contains 31 pairs of nerve roots that exit your spinal cord. They control everything from body movements to pain signals. If your back is compromised, either through a nerve impingement or a pulled muscle, you end up with pain and possibly even limited flexibility.

Acute lower back pain is the most common injury symptom. Almost 80 percent of adults experience low back pain, often from a job-related or sports-related accident.

Causes of back pain include:

• Overstretching, which causes a muscle or tendon strain or a ligament sprain
• Tearing a ligament, tendon or muscle
• Lifting a load that’s too heavy for you or doing it improperly
• Getting hit directly on your back in an accident or fall
• Having an existing medical condition, such as arthritis or osteoporosis, leading to a compression fracture

Take Care of Your Back

To avoid being left on the sidelines, keep your body strong and supple by making time for pre-activity stretches and warm-ups. Focus these activities on preparing your back for the twisting and reaching you have to do in your sport or exercise activity. If you’re a weekend warrior, warm up before the game.

You’re at risk if you don’t exercise regularly or if you lead an otherwise sedentary lifestyle. Infrequent exercise throughout the week with an intense increase over the weekend can lead to painful back injuries, especially as you age. If this describes you, make sure you warm up before joining the fun.

Risk Factors for Back Injuries

If you’re young and reasonably strong, you may feel invincible. It’s a typical attitude in young adults —active men and women in their 20s and 30s — but it sets the stage for a careless back injury.

You may have a high risk of injuring your back or spine if you:

• Are between 30 and 50 years of age
• Have suffered the loss of bone strength from osteoporosis that can lead to fractures
• Noticed a decrease in muscle elasticity and tone
• Suspect that your vertebral discs have begun to lose fluid, decreasing their ability to cushion the bones of your spine
• Aren’t physically fit through a regular exercise regimen
• Have weak back and abdominal muscles that don’t support your spine
• Are pregnant and have back pain, although it usually resolves post-partum
• Have gained weight, which puts additional stress on your back
• Work at a job requiring heavy lifting, pushing, pulling, twisting, or vibrating your spine
• Have a desk job, but practice poor posture with inadequate back support
• Suffer from anxiety and depression, possibly causing muscle tension

Treatments for Back Injuries in NJ

Back pain can be scary if you don’t know what’s behind the pain. That’s the value of an accurate diagnosis. Then, your pain management specialist can develop a targeted treatment plan. Upper back injury treatment may be different than low back injury treatment. It all depends on what’s causing your pain.

But at Redefine Healthcare, you can expect non-surgical procedures that effectively deal with your back pain.

Your back injury treatment may involve:

• Physical therapy to strengthen surrounding muscles and restore flexibility to your spine
• Painkilling medications, either taken orally or injected into your problem area, which allow you to participate in healing physical therapy without pain
• Lubricating injections that include anti-inflammatory medicine to speed healing and reduce pain
• Topical treatments that work from the outside in, lessening your pain

Even when you’re active, work to stay fit, and maintain your exercise routines weekly, you may still end up injuring your back. Back injuries can happen to anyone.

To get an accurate diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and a management plan, you need to consult with the best pain management team in New Jersey. Contact Dr. Freeman, the best pain doctor in NJ, and the team at Redefine Healthcare to receive the treatment that gets you back into the game. Get fit and healthy for long active life.