Education
TREATMENTS
Aside from pressure on nerves or unstable areas in the spine, most injuries in the neck and back can be treated non-operatively.
Treatment often involves temporarily stabilizing with a brace or activity modification until your body can heal the injury.
There are a fair number of different types of fractures – especially the higher energy fractures in car accidents and falls – where part of the spinal column is injured or fractured and surgical reconstruction is needed.
Sports like football and other high-contact, high-energy impact sports generally do create a fair number of injuries in the neck and back.
A lot of wrestlers suffer neck injuries, and a lot of football players receive neck and lower back injuries throughout the season.
Most of them can be treated without surgery, but occasionally there are a few injuries that require surgery and stabilization, or surgical reconstruction.
PREVENTION
General healthy living is the best way to avoid back and neck problems. Obesity and smoking are especially important factors, and here’s why:
The more weight you carry in your core, the harder your back muscles have to work to keep you in an upright position.
By the end of the day, those muscles fatigue, and the degenerative process speeds up. This can lead to wear and tear in the discs and arthritis in the joints of the spine.
Smoking is also related to the acceleration of early disc degeneration.
The positive news is that back pain is common and fleeting. Almost 90 percent of the population experiences significant back pain at some point during their lives, but in most cases it is only temporary.
