Back specialists often use the term "conservative treatment" to describe any treatment option that does not involve surgery. Treatment will depend on the seriousness of your condition. In many low back pain cases, simple therapies can help alleviate low back pain, including:
- Mild pain medications to relieve immediate pain
- Rest to take the pressure off your spine and the muscles around it
- Physical Therapy and Exercise to assist in calming pain and inflammation, and improve mobility and
strength
Epidural steroid injections (ESI) are also sometimes used to relieve the pain of stenosis and irritated nerve roots, as well as to decrease inflammation. These injections can also help reduce swelling from a bulging or herniated disc. The steroid injections are a combination of cortisone (a powerful anti-inflammatory steroid) and a local anesthetic that are given through the back into the epidural space. ESIs are not always successful in relieving symptoms of inflammation. They are typically used only when conservative treatments such as those listed above have failed.
The goal of treatment is to make you feel comfortable, reduce further degeneration, and get you back to normal activity as quickly as possible. As a last resort, and only if all other conservative treatments fail, surgery might be considered.
