Diagnosing Back Pain

Thank you to those who came out to our seminar "New Advances in Back Pain Treatment" tonight in Tulsa. We appreciate your questions and willingness to take part in your own health care.

One of the questions that came up tonight was how do we know what causes back pain. While there are many different causes of back pain, most can be lumped into to groups--pain involving either the soft tissues or bone.

Pain from soft tissues can be due to muscle problems (spasm, strain, etc), intervertebral disc problems (disc tears, herniations, etc) and nerves (compression, nerve irritation, etc). Bone problems are usually due to arthritis (spondylosis, facet arthritis, etc) or fracture (vertebral compression fractures, etc).

Sometimes back pain is causes by both soft tissue and bone problems. It's important to remember that back pain can be caused by referred pain. When pain occurs because of disease in one area, but feels like it is in another, this is called referred pain. For example, back pain can be caused by arthritis in the hip or pain from the internal organs of the pelvis and abdomen.

Since there are so many different causes of chronic back pain, it's important to see a qualified physician who is skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of back pain. Only by reviewing your history and physical examination can a physician accurately determine the cause of your pain. Even then it usually takes imaging studies (such as x-rays and MRI) to confirm before effective treatment can begin.

Back Pain Seminar Preview

For those planning on attending tomorrow's seminar, I'm excited to offer a preview. In this slide, I show just how much height restoration we can achieve by fixing vertebral fractures. This is important not only for pain relief, but also to restore more normal alignment to the vertebral column.

We'll see you tomorrow night at 6pm for this informative seminar.

Free Back Pain Seminar in Tulsa, 9/16/2008

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Webb will be presenting a free patient seminar on the latest advancements in back pain treatment including vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty. This insightful and stimulating presentation is free to the public, and outlines the various causes and treatments for back pain. Not only will this be presented in laymans terms, there will be a question and answer session immediately following.

Please join us for this informative event. Call (918) 260-9322 to register for this FREE seminar.

Time: Tuesday, September 16th at 6:00 p.m.
Location: Citiplex Towers at 81st & Lewis
Complimentary refreshments will be provided.