Low back pain

Low back pain is a deep or not well-located pain in the lower back (between the 12th rib and the iliac crest). It can radiate to the buttocks, groin, hip, thigh and knee. It is very common and in most cases disappears spontaneously in less than 15 days. It is called non-specific low back pain because we are not always able to identify the cause or the damaged tissue. The pain is caused by a mechanical change, inflammation or injury to one of the structures that make up the complex system of the lumbar spine: muscles, ligaments, facet joints, intervertebral discs, sacroiliac joint or nerves. Low back pain should not be considered a disease. It is possible to successfully treat both mechanical and inflammatory low back pain with the following remedies.

Neck pain

Neck pain is a deep pain that affects the neck and can radiate to the trapezius muscles, shoulders and shoulder girdle, but also to the face or head, causing headaches. In most cases, it resolves spontaneously. Its course is short, usually no more than two weeks. Neck pain is most often caused by mechanical changes, inflammation or injury to the articular facets, and to a lesser extent by disc pathology. As with low back pain, the occurrence of cervical pain should not be a cause for alarm, because although it does not resolve spontaneously, there are ways to successfully alleviate this typical pain pattern.

Headache and migraine

Headaches and migraines are two of the countless varieties of pain that can affect the skull, face and neck. Most of these headaches respond to simple painkillers or disappear on their own without treatment. Some forms of migraine and persistent or frequently recurring headaches can be prevented and controlled thanks to minimally invasive interventional techniques that offer stable and lasting results. At our centre, we specialise in the treatment of headaches originating in the cervical spine.

Herniated disc

The intervertebral disc, like other tissues in our body, is subject to signs of ageing and loses elasticity. The first signs of degeneration are water loss and the resulting dehydration of the disc. Later, the disc may bulge, cracks may appear in the ring that contains it, with possible loss of the disc’s contents, up to and including real ruptures, known as a herniated disc. The mechanical pressure of the disc on the adjacent spinal nerves can cause pain in the upper or lower extremities, depending on whether the injury is in the neck or lumbar region. Sometimes the contents of the disc can trigger an inflammatory process that irritates the spinal nerves and causes pain.

Stenosis of the lumbar canal

It is a narrowing of the lumbar canal caused by degenerative manifestations of the intervertebral discs, the facet joints, the yellow ligament or by spondylolisthesis. Patients notice a dull pain, usually in the lumbar region and in the legs, only when walking or standing. This discomfort disappears at rest, but significantly limits autonomy; in advanced stages, it can completely disable walking and alter sphincter control. It affects a high percentage of the adult population and its definitive treatment is surgical, although there are several solutions to alleviate the condition without surgery

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Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is by definition a condition of increased sensitivity to pain, characterised by the presence of a very low pain threshold. People with fibromyalgia experience pain from stimuli that are not painful for the normal population. Almost always, the pain affects the whole body and occurs with light pressure or spontaneously. In addition, other typical symptoms may accompany fibromyalgia: Irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, depression, fatigue, insomnia or non-restorative sleep, thyroid disorders and bladder infections. People with fibromyalgia, like the rest of the population, may also suffer from pain due to other injuries (e.g. herniated disc, osteoarthritis). In this case, the diagnosis becomes very difficult due to the complexity of differentiating and distinguishing between the complaints. All painful conditions are treated specifically.

Pain in the pelvic area

Pelvic pain can be caused by pathologies in the reproductive organs – in both women and men – but it is not exclusive to these types of structures. They can also affect the colon, the rectum and the bladder. In other cases, such as pudendal neuralgia, the pain is localised in the external genitalia. This pain is difficult for any professional to treat. The pain clinic has a supportive role and must, whenever possible, try to identify the source of the pain in order to offer the best solution in each case. Somatic and sympathetic blockades are alternatives we offer in pain management for these cases.

Osteoarthrose

Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease in humans and one of the leading causes of disability in older people. As our body has many joints, osteoarthritis can have one or many localisations. Knees, hips, hands and the spine are very susceptible to osteoarthritis resulting in inflammation, pain and reduced function. It should not be stigmatised as a disease because it is the development of the changes that occur with age. The pain caused by osteoarthritis in its various forms can be controlled in almost all cases.

Facial pain

Most conditions associated with facial pain are self-limiting and resolve without after-effects. Sometimes, as in the case of trigeminal neuralgia or some types of headache and migraine, facial pain, because of its location, creates a disability that leads to a chronic form of the condition, sometimes accompanied by depression and isolation.

Tendonitis and muscle injuries

Tendonitis and muscle injuries are more common than they seem and cause pain that needs to be treated properly before it becomes chronic. Although it is a cliché to think that only athletes are exposed to these types of musculoskeletal pathologies, in reality they can occur throughout the population. This is partly due to high life expectancy and partly due to the increase in physical sporting activity at all ages. In professional life, these injuries also occur due to overuse and recurrent trauma.