You Need To Consider Doing This If Your Spine Pain Is Not Improving With Exercise
Spine pain can feel like a heavy, constant burden, affecting every aspect of your life. Whether it’s sharp, throbbing pain or a dull ache, spine pain can make even the simplest movements—like standing, sitting, or bending—feel unbearable. Whether caused by muscle strain, poor posture, or underlying conditions such as a herniated disc or degenerative disc disease, spine pain can leave you feeling immobilized and frustrated.
The emotional impact of spine pain can be just as significant as the physical discomfort. The frustration of not finding relief, combined with the anxiety about the pain worsening, can leave you feeling hopeless, helpless, and drained. If exercise hasn’t provided lasting relief from your spine pain, it might be time to explore other treatment options that address the root cause and provide long-term solutions.
Exercise: A Common Approach to Treating Spine Pain
Exercise is often recommended for individuals suffering from spine pain because it can help strengthen the muscles that support the spine, improve flexibility, and promote overall spinal health. Targeted exercises can improve posture, reduce pressure on the spine, and alleviate discomfort by promoting better alignment and strengthening core muscles that stabilize the back.
However, while exercise can play a vital role in alleviating spine pain, it may not always provide the full relief needed, especially if the pain is caused by more severe underlying conditions, such as disc problems, arthritis, or spinal stenosis. For some individuals, the pain may persist, leaving them feeling frustrated and uncertain about how to move forward.
Why Getting a Clear Diagnosis Is Crucial
Spine pain can result from various causes, and understanding the underlying issue is essential for finding the right solution. Here are five common causes of spine pain:
- Herniated Disc – A bulging or slipped disc in the spine can press on nearby nerves, causing pain and discomfort, often radiating down the legs or arms.
- Degenerative Disc Disease – As discs in the spine break down over time, they can lose their cushioning ability, leading to pain and stiffness.
- Spinal Stenosis – Narrowing of the spinal canal can put pressure on the spinal cord or nerves, resulting in pain, numbness, or weakness.
- Arthritis – Osteoarthritis or inflammatory conditions in the spine can lead to pain, stiffness, and limited mobility.
- Muscle Strain – Overuse, poor posture, or sudden movements can strain the muscles around the spine, causing localized pain and discomfort.
In addition to these common causes, there are two less common but potentially serious causes of spine pain:
- Fractures – A fracture in the vertebrae can cause severe pain and limit movement, requiring immediate medical attention.
- Infections – Spinal infections can cause inflammation and pain, which require prompt diagnosis and treatment.
The Need for Imaging to Get a Precise Diagnosis
It’s important to understand that spine pain cannot always be fully diagnosed based on symptoms alone. Imaging techniques such as X-rays, MRIs, or CT scans are necessary to assess the health of the spine, discs, muscles, and surrounding tissues. These diagnostic tools provide healthcare providers with a clear picture of what’s causing the pain and help develop an effective treatment plan tailored to your condition.
The Pain Relief Clinic: Your Partner in Finding a Clear Diagnosis
At The Pain Relief Clinic, we understand how spine pain can limit your ability to live an active and fulfilling life. With over a decade of experience, we specialize in offering non-invasive diagnostic services to uncover the root cause of your pain. If exercise hasn’t provided the relief you need, we can arrange for affordable scans, typically within one working day.
Medisave can often be used to help cover the cost of these scans, making them more accessible for you.
We also assist with insurance claims, including accident insurance, travel insurance, and company insurance, ensuring that you can access the care you need without added financial strain.
Once we have a clear diagnosis, we can provide targeted treatments, solutions, and non-invasive technology to help alleviate your spine pain and restore your mobility.
Ready to take control of your spine pain? Send us a message today to arrange an appointment and take the first step toward lasting relief from spine pain.
What To Expect When I Visit The Pain Relief Clinic
A typical visit will involve our doctor first understanding your medical history, concerns and previous experience with other pain treatments.
For patients who have consulted many people but have yet to receive a clear diagnosis, selecting an affordable imaging scan might be recommended to confirm the cause of your pain..
Some patients have already done scans with other doctors for their pain condition but are still not clearly told what they suffer from.
Dr Terence Tan is happy to offer you a second opinion and recommend how best to manage your condition.
We also see patients who already have a confirmed diagnosis from specialist pain doctors, but are "stuck” because treatment options offered are not practical or acceptable.
We can help by discussing options that you might have potentially never been told of.
A common experience is when a patient has already consulted a specialist doctor for pain management and is told to consider orthopaedic surgery which they find too aggressive.
Or they may have seen doctors for their pain and were prescribed painkillers with potential side effects which made them feel uncomfortable.
Many of our patients have also first tried complementary treatments or acupuncture with traditional Chinese pain doctors.
They look for a second opinion after finding any relief experienced from other treatments to be temporary or requiring repetitive treatments, which add up to time and cost.
Especially in such situations, we emphasize using non-invasive medical technology you likely have not been told about .
This can make a big difference to your results.