Patients Ask Minimally Invasive SpineCARE®: Is This Back Pain Serious?

Online, March 22, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Back pain is a common ailment, affecting eight of 10 people worldwide and four out of five Americans.* But how can a person determine when to treat it at home and when to visit a back specialist?

"If your back pain hasn't improved within 72 hours, or if it was the result of an injury, see a specialist as soon as possible to rule out serious conditions. This also goes for anyone experiencing 'warning sign' symptoms, such as fever, nausea, vomiting, stomach aches, sweating or a feeling of weakness," says Dr. Douglas Won, founder and director of Minimally Invasive SpineCARE®.

Additional "warning signs" that people should look for include:

• Chronic back pain that just won't go away
• Pain so intense that it prohibits movement
• Shooting pain that goes down the leg, below the knee or out to the extremities
• Numbness in the legs, feet, groin or backside
• Loss of bowel or bladder control

"Once the decision has been made to seek out a spine specialist, ask your primary care physician for referrals, and research the options to determine which doctor is right for you," suggests Dr. Won.

To help in the selection process, Dr. Won recommends asking these three questions:

Is the doctor a specialist or generalist?
"Search for fellowship-trained specialists because they have received more hands-on education and experience in spine care," states Dr. Won.

What kinds of treatment options are available?
"Surgery should be a last resort. The best clinics will have a variety of non-surgical options available. When surgery is necessary, ask about minimally invasive options and the equipment the doctor will use. Some equipment expands once it's inserted into the spine. This can cause as much muscle tearing and pain as traditional open back surgery," explains Dr. Won.

How does the doctor determine where the pain is?
"Isolating the root of the pain is crucial to proper treatment. Often MRIs or CT scans are not adequate enough," notes Dr. Won. "Clinics that use cutting-edge technology are better equipped to find the true pain source."

Minimally Invasive SpineCARE is a nationally acclaimed, fully comprehensive spine center for surgical and nonsurgical treatments. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Minimally Invasive SpineCARE has 12 clinics in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Services include pain mapping and other diagnostic services, adult stem cell therapy, surgical procedures, non-surgical treatments, and chiropractic and physical therapy. For more information, visit www.SpineCareDFW.com or call 1-888-600-6474. Connect with Minimally Invasive SpineCARE on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SpineCareDFW), Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/spinecaredfw) or YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/spinecaredfw).

*Statistics from the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health and the North American Spine Society.

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Media Contact:
Krista Simmons
TrizCom Inc.
817-492-9143
[email protected]

Minimally Invasive SpineCARE® locations:
1851 Medical Center Drive, Decatur, TX 76234
1001 Robbie Mince Way, Desoto, TX 75115
9330 Poppy Drive, Ste. 500, Dallas, TX 75218
8750 North Central Expressway, Ste. 1750, Dallas, TX 75231
800 Eighth Avenue, Ste. 440, Fort Worth, TX 76104
4400 Heritage Trace Parkway, Ste. 208, Fort Worth, TX 76244
8501 Wade Boulevard, Ste. 270, Frisco, TX 75034
5224 South State Highway 360, Ste. 230, Grand Prairie, TX 75052
4301 North MacArthur Boulevard, Ste. 101, Irving, TX 75038
6850 TPC Drive, Ste. 116, McKinney, TX 75070
4716 Alliance Boulevard, Pavilion 2, Ste. 218, Plano, TX 75093
1600 Republic Parkway, Ste. 100, Mesquite, TX 75150