Is Your Back Pain Serious Enough to See a Doctor?

By Hal Blatman MD on Feb 20, 2021 in Blog, Conditions, News

Every case of back pain is unique — but ignoring serious back pain will only make it worse. How can you tell if your back pain is serious? Can you tough through it or do you need a doctor?

The answer depends not only on the severity of the pain, but how long the pain lasts. As a general rule, if your back pain does not subside within a week or two, you should visit a doctor. If you are in such severe pain you can barely move or function, you should also see a doctor. While you may not have a medical emergency, a health and wellness doctor can provide a diagnosis and recommend a treatment plan. They may even be able to provide you immediate relief so you can get back to as close to normal life as possible.

Signs Your Back Pain May Be Severe

If back pain goes away after 72 hours of rest, it’s of little concern. Sometimes back pain can creep on and be long lasting, in which case medical treatment or massage therapy may be necessary.

If the pain is sharp — not just a dull ache — you have no additional information. Our brain cannot tell the difference between numbness, tingling, itch, tingle, sharp, dull, achy, stabbing, radiating, shooting, etc. None of these differences indicate a different cause for the pain. Rarely is the lower back pain due to nerve compression from a disc. Most of the time it is due to muscle and fascia injuries starting in childhood, continuing through adulthood, and greatly accentuated by the inflammatory reaction of fascia to what you have eaten in the past 3 months.

If you have back pain but are also having trouble with your bowels or bladder, you may suffer from nerve compression or a spine infection.

If you feel numbness or pain in your groin or glutes in addition to back pain, you likely have a condition known as known as saddle anesthesia. You may also have a serious nerve or spine condition. You should see a health and wellness doctor.

A doctor can not only lead to an accurate diagnosis, but more importantly help you get the back pain therapy you need to get better. Pain should never be ignored, especially if it continues for more than a week or two. It’s your body telling you something — listen to what it has to say.

Hal Blatman MD

View all posts by Hal Blatman MD →

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Since beginning treatment with Dr. Blatman, I have lost lost 30 pounds and gone from being unable to walk without help, to a career singing and dancing at retirement communities, sometimes up to four hours a day.

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After suffering with widespread pain for two years, I was told it was all in my head and that nothing could be done for my condition as nothing appeared on an x-ray or MRI. After joining a fibromyalgia support group, I was referred to Dr. Blatman. I found [it] to be very calm[ing] and reassuring that my pain was real. We discussed medication, therapies exercise and diet changes and Dr. Blatman literally walked with me in reclaiming my life.

Sylvia Link

I visited Dr. Blatman to receive relief from a strained groin, and recurrent calf pain due to an injury a year ago. After two visits where Dr. Blatman performed the trigger point injection technique, both problems have been resolved and I have been able to resume all activities including playing tennis 3 times a week. I would highly recommend Dr. Blatman and his associates.

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When I first went to Dr. Blatman two years ago, I was spending 1-3 days a week in bed with severe neck pain, headaches and nausea. I had had migraines for 40 years and been to countless doctors, but did not receive any help. I had also developed chronic myofascial pain in my neck. Now, two years later, I have not been bed ridden with a sick pain event in my neck or head once, and I have a life again, thanks to Dr. Blatman's expert knowledge, thoughtful help and perseverance.

Wendy Andrews

I don’t have a lot of time to get better when my back hurts. Bad backs are an occupational hazard in dentistry. Treatment with Dr. Blatman gets me out of pain, back to work and back on the golf course with a minimal amount of down time. Having this treatment available has been an indispensable part of my life in terms of doing the things I need and love to do.

Dr. Richard Wolterman

I was in pain daily and forced to limit my exercise. This was a real blow to me because exercise had always been a part of my life. I tried anti-inflammatory medications and physical therapy, but nothing worked. I was afraid I was going to have to live the rest of my life like this. That’s when I was introduced to Dr. Blatman’s philosophies. By implementing his ideas of wellness into my life and selective trigger point injections, I’m happy to say that I am now happy, healthy and pain free.

Teri Boynton

The key to relieving chronic pain, especially fibromyalgia and myofascial pain, requires identification and treatment of perpetuating factors. This must be done on a patient-by-patient basis, due to the variables these conditions present. Dr. Blatman provides this total patient care.

Devin Starlanyl

Like so many people who suffer with chronic headaches, I had gotten only partial relief from traditional medicine. Dr. Blatman understands the impact of headache pain. His emphasis on multiple techniques made a big difference for me.

Chris Modrall

Chronic Fatigue was my diagnosis in 2005. How do you treat Chronic Fatigue? Well, there is no magic pill or cure. So I suffered for almost 2 years. I did not find a magic pill but I did find Blatman Pain Clinic. I was cautious about many of his recommendations but I have found out the hard way to follow his advise. My energy level is back to normal. I can keep up with my hectic job and 2 teenage children. I am a single parent and they count on me! Thank You Dr. Blatman!

KG

As an author of one of the early texts on Evidence-Based Medicine I know the power and peril of anecdote. That said I arrived to present at a conference with a painfully familiar recurrence lower back pain, bracing myself for days if not weeks of symptoms to come. Hal kindly offered to diagnose and provide some hands on treatment. Within 10 minutes I felt 50% better and by morning I was 80% better and could put my socks on again. Within a week I was completely pain free. While this is by no means scientific evidence I could not help but feel awe inspired by Hal and his care.

Daniel Friedman, MD

Within ten days, my groin muscle pain was gone and the elbow tendonitis pain resolved in a slightly longer time. Both problems have gone away with no recurrence.

Alan Rosenberg

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