You Don't Have to Live With Back Pain

Dr. Patrick Doherty and our team at Yale Neurosurgery New London in New London, Connecticut, are dedicated to treating back pain of all shapes and sizes.

Once he’s discovered what’s driving your symptoms, Dr. Doherty’s attention shifts to designing a customized treatment strategy that addresses your discomfort and the underlying issue responsible for your aching back. His goal is to get you moving again without pain.

Here’s what Dr. Doherty would like you to know about back pain, and why you may want to seek treatment sooner rather than later.

When should I see a doctor for back pain?

It’s true that most back pain improves after a few days and is often linked to muscle strain caused by a misstep when lifting or after a long workday. However, when you start noticing repeat episodes of pain, or the discomfort becomes part of your everyday life, it’s probably time to check in with the doctor.

As is true with most medical conditions, early diagnosis and treatment often increase your odds of a successful and quicker recovery. It’s also unnecessary to spend weeks or months suffering from back pain when you don’t have to.   

Consider scheduling an appointment if your pain:

• Persists longer than a week with home treatment
• Becomes severe or worsens rather than improves day by day
• Interferes with your daily work, home, and social activities
• Travels into your shoulders, arms, buttocks, or legs
• Is accompanied by numbness, tingling, or weakness in your extremities
• Prevents you from getting restful sleep

Seek emergency medical care if your back pain occurs with a high fever, you experience unexpected loss of urine or stool (incontinence), or your discomfort develops after a fall, car accident, or other trauma.  

Treatment for back pain may be simpler than you think

Many people put off seeing a specialist for back pain because they fear that effective treatment includes a series of unpleasant procedures that offer only minimal improvement or back surgery that requires weeks of recovery and extensive rehab.

Although he’s a gifted spine surgeon, Dr. Doherty makes every effort to resolve your pain with conservative therapies whenever possible.   

Based on the results of an initial evaluation, your customized treatment strategy may include:

• Guided physical therapy designed to improve strength, stamina, and flexibility
• Activity modification to relieve pressure on nerves, discs, and other structures in your spine
• Oral medications to relieve pain and decrease inflammation
• Massage therapy
• Minimally invasive therapies, such as steroid injections, to reduce pain and swelling

It’s important to note that in some cases even simple corrections in posture or lifting habits can help relieve your current discomfort and prevent future episodes of back pain.

What if I need surgery?

When conservative measures fail, Dr. Doherty may recommend surgery to relieve your pain and restore stability to your spine.

Whenever possible, he performs minimally invasive spine surgery that is often more effective and offers a faster recovery than traditional surgery. Dr. Doherty also has extensive expertise in robotic surgery which, while also minimally invasive, offers a higher level of accuracy and precision than other surgical techniques.

Following your surgery, Dr. Doherty and our team continue to provide support throughout your recovery and rehab to ensure the best possible outcome.

Don’t try to live with persistent back pain. Schedule an appointment at Yale Neurosurgery New London today by calling 860-341-1006.