What are the three phases of care for low back pain?

Posted in: Management, Self-Care    

The Palladian Health approach to managing low back pain can be divided into three phases:
1. Primary care
2. Secondary care
3. Tertiary care

1. Research shows that the best treatment for more than 95 percent of people with low back pain is an approach that relies on conservative treatments including education, self-care, return to regular activities, heat or ice, and over-the-counter medication. These treatments, called primary care, should help you carry on while your low back pain disappears. If not, you might try other forms of conservative treatments such as spinal manipulation therapy, supervised exercise therapy, or a combined approach. These treatments are highly effective during the first three months of low back pain.

2. Some people won’t be able to get relief through primary care alone. When that happens, your primary care doctor may refer you to another doctor such as a neurologist, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist (also called a physiatrist), an orthopedic spine surgeon, a neurosurgeon, or another medical specialist.

Secondary care usually starts with a thorough examination to rule out specific physical causes of low back pain. Secondary care may continue if the exam detects one of the specific spinal problems that sometimes respond to surgery or other interventions such as injections. Otherwise, the secondary care doctor may suggest returning to a primary care doctor for more conservative treatments.

3. Very few people with low back pain will not improve even after trying primary care and secondary care. Sometimes they may simply have rare conditions for which no treatments will work. Tertiary care is for those extremely rare cases. Tertiary care relies on a multidisciplinary approach. This approach typically includes physical rehabilitation, medication, and behavioral therapy to help return patients to a normal and productive life.

 
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