A back clinic is a medical practice that diagnoses and treats pain in the lower back and neck. They also help patients manage their pain and get back to their regular activities as quickly as possible. In addition, they will provide advice and recommendations for preventing future problems. They may recommend over-the-counter pain relievers and applying ice to reduce swelling. They may also advise patients to do certain exercises or other forms of physical therapy.
To find the source of your back pain, doctors perform a physical examination of your spine and neck. They will ask you about your past injuries, work and lifestyle to see what could be causing your pain. They will look for changes in the bones of your spine, and they will ask you to bend and move your body in different ways to see how your pain responds.
The doctor will then order diagnostic tests to identify the cause of your pain. These tests may include a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which uses powerful magnets to create a series of cross-sectional images, called slices, of your back and the surrounding tissues. X-rays may also be ordered to assess your spinal alignment and check for damage to the joints in your spine.
If your back pain is caused by narrowing of the spaces in your spine, a surgeon may perform laminectomy to open up space for the spinal nerves. This surgery involves removing the bony plate on the back of the vertebrae that causes the stenosis.