The term “back injury” can refer to a whole list of problems. Some are minor, such as muscle strain. Others might be caused by the damage that has resulted from a traumatic accident, as per Injury Lawyer in Ottawa.

The traditional treatment

In the past, patients with a back injury had to endure a period of forced immobilization. That provided the injured tissues with time to heal.

Today, some problems respond to surgery

• A skilled surgeon can mend a separation.
• A surgeon’s skills might be used to realign muscles or to realign tendons or discs.
• Sometimes an operation allows for the removal of damaged tissue: A laminectomy involves total removal of damaged vertebrae. A microdiscetomy involves partial removal of damaged discs.

An operation might be used to complete reconstruction of injured vertebrae. Sometimes, too, a surgeon carries out the replacement of an injured disc.

How medications might be used to treat a back injury

Muscle relaxers can reduce the tension in the muscles. That helps the patient to perform any tasks that might have been requested by a physical therapist.
• Methods for giving pain medication: Patient uses pills that have been purchased over-the-counter.
• Patient applies a topical medication, in the form of a cream, lotion or ointment.
• Patient receives a cortical injection; that allows the medicine to travel directly to the source of the painful sensation.

Physical therapy (PT) and exercise

Patient needs to take part in this activity on a regular basis. There are various benefits of the PT and exercise can be enhanced by utilization of supplementary activities: Massaging of the back muscles

• Patient engages in yoga exercises, in addition to more traditional routines
• Patient receives acupuncture treatment
• A chiropractor oversees some of the patient’s care

Patients that are not taking a pain medication might struggle to follow the instructions from a physical therapist. Utilization of pain relief makes it easier to move, as directed by a specialist in PT.

Research on possible new treatments

Medical scientists have learned that the damaged tissues do have some ability to regenerate themselves. Having made that observation, researchers are seeking ways to enhance the rate of that natural regenerative process. That search has spurred further investigations on stem cells.

Stem cells must be grown in a culture dish. The rate of the cells’ growth determines the speed with which new treatments might be explored. Once a sufficient number of stem cells have been produced by in vitro techniques, then they can be injected into a selected patient, one that has suffered a back injury.

Later, a physical therapist analyzes the degree to which the injected cells have managed to improve the patient’s performance. In addition, the therapist’s observations can be compared with the reports coming from the care-giving chiropractor.