Although it is always a good idea to have the emergency room phone number handy, not all injuries or pain require a trip to the emergency room. Some conditions or injuries require long-term care and treatment, which is something an emergency room can?t help you with.
For example, according to a recent study, 69% of the adults in the United States reported that lower back pain adversely impacts their daily lives. Unless you experience a sudden injury that puts in you in the emergency room, an ER doctor can?t help you with chronic lower back pain.
The research on lower back pain shows that 40% of people reporting pain do not see their physician or a physical therapist. Although an estimated 40% of people do try exercise to alleviate the pain, it isn’t always under the direction of a doctor or therapist. For some, exercise or physical therapy do help and are worth trying.
World Neurosurgery magazine published a study that found people suffering from Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) had comparable outcomes between choosing lumber fusion surgery or non-operative treatments such as physical therapy. Your doctor can help you determine which treatment path may be best for you.
DDD and other forms of lower back pain are chronic conditions that need to be treated overtime. Nearly 60% of all baby boomers are living with a chronic condition of some kind. There are a variety of clinics and doctors that can provide that ongoing care depending on what the chronic condition is. Clinical care can be specialized to your condition.
Using the emergency room phone number when you?re dealing with a chronic condition will not help you in the long-run. While an emergency room doctor may be able to give you limited relief with a pain killer, they will not be able to relieve the source of the pain.
The best thing to do is leave the emergency room phone number and call your doctor. Schedule an appointment to deal with the pain appropriately. Lower back pain can be debilitating, and it can come on with little warning. You may wake up feeling fine and then collapse in pain just from reaching for the coffee pot.
Many people avoid talking to their doctor about their back pain because they assume surgery is their only option, and they don?t want to go through back surgery. However, that is not the case. There are multiple non-surgical treatment options your doctor can explore with you first.