Essay
Dealing with back pain
I recently slipped and fell on my tailbone. It was nothing! But a few days later, my lower back began to hurt enough to see my doctor.
She took an X-ray and informed me that some arthritis had formed in my back. The fall likely caused some inflammation of the lower back joints, which sent pain through the spinal nerves. She suggested some over-the-counter drugs and sent me to physical therapy. The PT clinic was not very good and caused my back to spasm, so I stopped going. I had to quit my regular job.
The pain got worse. Visits to a chiropractor gave me a day or two of relief. Stretches and exercises at home on a daily basis helped some. But I was in pain a lot of the time. The months slipped by and I called my doctor again. We moved on to an MRI and visits to a back surgeon and pain clinic. My doctor gave me some stronger prescriptions. The surgeon said I’m not a candidate for surgery … yet.
The pain clinic seemed to tune in to my problem. They introduced me to a noninvasive pain treatment called ablation. The proper name is radiofrequency ablation of the lumbar, or lower back. Nerves send pain signals from injured or damaged joints that connect the vertebrae of our spines. The nerves are the culprits. What ablation does is kill the nerves that are connected to joints that cannot be fixed. In bad cases, invasive back surgery is a better choice than ablation but fortunately that’s not the case for me. What is surprising is that this procedure can stop the pain for up to one or two years! The nerves grow back, but you can do the procedure again.
My medical insurance finally approved the RFA procedure, but the approval depends on passing two test shots. The first shot is a numbing drug injected into the damaged nerves. Six hours of pain relief are required to pass the test. A second shot two weeks later has to show the same result. If all goes well, the RFA can go ahead. I’m scheduled for Oct. 31. There are risks, but in my case and with my surgeon, I believe they are small.
Results of the procedure are also all over the map. Success rates from 25% to 85% are reported, with the relief lasting from six months to three years for most patients. Some patients never have pain again.
According to The Health Policy Institute of Georgetown University, 16 million Americans, or 8% of all adults, suffer from chronic back pain. It is the leading cause of work loss, and affects all ages and incomes. Studies show Japan and other industrialized countries suffer as much.
My hopes are on ablation! (Beverly A. Jackson)
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