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Disc Pain – Alternative Treatments

If conventional pain management techniques, such as physical therapy or exercise, have proven ineffective for controlling your chronic disc pain, you might consider alternative treatments. These are defined by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine as a “diverse selection of medical and health care systems that are used in place of conventional medicine.” In many cases, these treatments are not widely accepted or their effectiveness remains in dispute. However, ongoing clinical studies could bring some alternative treatments into the medical mainstream over time.

Categories of Alternative Treatments

Personal preference is a factor when it comes to choosing how to deal with disc pain using alternative treatments. Religious beliefs, socioeconomic standing, and age often determine how willing a patient might be to veer out of the medical mainstream. Some alternative treatments began to be used centuries ago and, even though relatively little scientific evidence exists to prove their effectiveness, their very longevity makes them attractive to new patients. Other alternative treatments began life only a few generations ago as home remedies, but have gained broader acceptance either through effective marketing or anecdotal evidence of their healing abilities.

Alternative treatments can be divided into five basic categories:

• Alternative medical systems – Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine, naturopathy
• Mind-body interventions – biofeedback, cognitive-behavioral therapy
• Biologically based therapies – herbal supplements, homeopathy, pain patches
• Manipulative and body-based methods – acupuncture, massage, chiropractic medicine, yoga
• Energy therapies – magnets, ultrasound, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)

When Chronic Disc Pain Persists

If alternative treatments have proven ineffective for managing the symptoms associated with nerve compression caused by disc degeneration, your doctor might suggest surgery as an option. If this happens to you, contact Laser Spine Institute to learn how a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure performed using advanced, endoscopic techniques can help you rediscover your life without back and neck pain.

Please note: Laser Spine Institute currently does not perform endoscopic procedures on the thoracic spine.