Almost every person will at some point in life experience acute low back pain with some of these episodes being extremely painful. Such acute pain can cause massive disruptions in one’s normal operations. Fortunately, low back pain episodes only take between 2 and 12 weeks and do not require neurosurgical operations. However, there are those patients who often wonder if they need to consult a back specialist or a spine surgeon orange county. In the event of low back pain, it is always advisable to first consult a primary care physician before even considering a neurosurgical operation. The physician will most likely recommend basic recommendations for treating low back pain such as narcotic and non-narcotic paid medications. The physician can also recommend that you visit a chiropractor for physical therapy. A chiropractor uses mechanical methods to alleviate episodes of low back pain. If the patient gets better after consulting a primary care physician, they are allowed to resume normal life and won’t require to find a neurosurgeon for neurosurgical operations.

Non-Surgical Specialists for Low Back Pain Treatment
Since spine disorders are very common, there are instances when the condition of a patient fails to improve even after consulting a physician or a chiropractor. In such instances, neurosurgical operations are probably the next option but not everyone wishes to go through neurosurgery or spine surgery. You can avoid all this by consulting conservative care specialists or physiatrists who specialize in the musculoskeletal disorders rehabilitation. There are those who specialize exclusively in spine care. What a physiatrist done is almost similar to what a brain surgeon does when dealing with issues affecting the brain. Many people with low back pain do not require surgery but specialized care is necessary in the event that the problem does not improve. Today, most physiatrists are not only trained as conservative care specialists but are slowly diversifying into interventional pain medicine. They are also applying diagnostics techniques in practice such as using a combination of diagnostic tests, intervention medicine and physical analysis to know the exact source of back pain.


When to See a Spine Surgeon for Low Back Pain
Low back surgery should only be considered when there are anatomical problems that cause nerve pinching or spinal instability that results to low back pain. If none of these problems are the cause of the pain, then surgery should not be an option. In the event that non-surgical procedures do not improve the patient’s condition with regards to low back pain, this too should not be a reason to consider neurosurgical operations. The decision on whether or not to undergo a spine surgery when experiencing low back pain is entirely at the patient’s decision. The spine surgeon should make recommendations based on the initial assessment on whether the surgery is a good idea or not. This should either be a neurosurgeon specializing in spine surgery or an orthopedic spine surgeon. Of importance to highlight by the spine surgeon are the pros and cons of undergoing a spine surgery as well as the long term effects of such a procedure. Since there are other methods apart from neurosurgical operations that can be used to alleviate low back pain, spine surgery should only come as a last resort.