If you’ve made the decision to visit a specialist, therapist or physician for your back pain, you’ve taken the first step in the journey to get back to full health. However, a medical expert can’t read your mind and know exactly what’s going on inside your body. Imaging results and medical histories are helpful, but doctors oftentimes get their initial idea of what might be going on by listening to what the patient has to say about their injury.
Talking about your injury might sound easy, but it’s not as simple as pointing to an area of your body and saying “it hurts here.” How you describe your spine pain to your physician or therapist goes a long way in helping in the diagnostic and treatment process. In today’s blog, we shine a light on how you can improve the way you explain your pain to your care staff.
Talking About Your Back Pain
Here are some ways that people often talk about their pain to their doctor, and how you can expand on those talking points to better help your physician understand your pain.
- When pain started – Don’t just let them know that your pain started on Tuesday, tell them exactly what was going on when pain developed. Were you lifting equipment at work? Out for a run? Did you feel it first thing in the morning? Go into detail about what exactly was going on when pain first began.
- Where pain is located – Again, be as descriptive as possible when talking about the location of your pain. Instead of saying that your lower back hurts, point to the location of pain and tell them if pain tends to travel down your legs or elsewhere in your body with movement or when bending. Pain isn’t always isolated to one specific spot, so talk to them about how pain develops throughout your body.
- What makes things worse or better – Is your back pain worse at the end of the day? Do symptoms resolve when you’re lying down? Does it get worse with activity or after a long day at the office? Let your doctor know which actions lead to symptom onset and symptom relief.
- Impact on daily life – Another way to talk about your pain is to tell the doctor how back pain is impacting your daily life. Are you avoiding once enjoyable activities because of pain? Are you gritting your teeth and bearing with discomfort during other activities? Understanding how pain affects your daily life helps your care team design treatments to improve these areas of your life.
- How you’re treating pain – A final way to help your doctor get a full understanding of what you’re dealing with is to explain how you’re currently trying to treat your pain. Maybe you’re not actively treating it and you just hoped it would go away on its own, or maybe you’re taking over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications. However you’re treating your back pain, let your doctor know so they can better understand what’s working and what’s not.
For more tips, or to talk to a back specialist about your spine or neck pain, reach out to Dr. Sinicropi’s clinic today.
