If you suffer from chronic back and neck pain, you know that the debilitating pressure and sharp, stinging pain can affect all aspects of your life. Often times, back and neck pain are difficult for doctors to diagnose, and problems can last weeks, months, and even years. Medications like Advil and Tylenol may offer little to no relief while prescription medications like pain killers or muscle relaxers only soothe the symptoms without fixing the actual problem. Treatments can range from simply correcting your daily posture, to serious options like major back surgery, so it's important first and foremost to see a neurologist or orthopedic doctor. For a permanent fix to your back and neck pain, you'll need to diagnose the specific issue with your spine and then apply the proper treatment.

Improve Your Daily Habits

While back pain can be caused by serious injuries or diseases, a majority of back pain is the result of improper posture developed by acquiring bad habits. Hunching over a computer desk all day or lifting heavy weight using a bad technique can cause gradual shifts in the vertebrae that, over long periods of time, can develop into chronic pain. Before you seek medical attention, there are some treatments you can try at home or in the office that may relieve your pesky aches and pains.

If you have to sit at a desk all day, try purchasing a mesh lumbar support system for your office chair. Most of these systems are reasonably priced, easy to install, and will dramatically improve your posture throughout your work day. For those in manual labor, a lumbar support belt may be able to relieve some of the pressure being put on your lower back and can improve your performance at work.

Daily stretching can also relieve back pain. Taking a few minutes per day to stretch your back and legs can loosen tight muscles that add pressure to your back. Also, sleeping on your side with a pillow between your knees helps the natural curvature of your spine and may result in resolving some pain.

Seek Chiropractic Care

Chiropractors can offer the best non-invasive treatment for your back and neck pain. At your first visit, a chiropractor will learn about your health history and perform a physical exam of your spine. The chiropractor may also have an x-ray done to make sure there are no obvious breaks, tumors, or lesions causing your back pain. Once the chiropractor has a solid idea about where your pain is located, he or she will adjust your back by laying you down on a padded table and applying controlled, sudden force to the problem area.

After the chiropractor has adjusted your back and neck, you may feel discomfort in the areas that have been adjusted. Your chiropractor may suggest that you combine the physical adjustments with additional treatments, such as:

* Massage
* Heat or ice
* Electrical Stimulation
* Exercise or rest, depending on the treatment

Consider Surgical Procedures

If you are suffering from severe back and neck pain that has not responded to at-home treatment or chiropractic care, your doctor may order an MRI or CT scan. These images are more in-depth than an x-ray, and can reveal problems with bones, muscles, tissue, tendons, nerves, ligaments, and blood vessels. If the scan reveals a serious problem, your doctor may suggest surgery. While back surgery certainly sounds like a frightening experience, advances in medical technology have allowed doctors to perform operations that are minimally invasive and have reduced recovery periods.

Endoscopic surgery is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that uses an extremely small incision, allowing doctors to fix spinal problems without cutting through large groups of back muscles or nerves. With more advanced medical tools using laser and robotic technology, surgeons can perform these operations in a minimal amount of time and at a high rate of success. Some spinal procedures commonly performed using endoscopic surgery, include:

* Foraminotomy
* Laminotomy
* Endoscopic discectomy
* Facet thermal ablation
* And minimally invasive stabilization

Only your doctor can tell you whether or not your back and neck pain requires endoscopic surgery. However, if you do need endoscopic surgery you can rest assured that your back and neck problems will be fixed, you will have minimal scarring, and you may return to your normal daily activity in as little as one to two weeks.