Back Pain
WHY DOES MY BACK HURT?
MUSCLE STRAINS
Uncomplicated muscle strains heal in three to six weeks. Insurance companies keep telling people that “soft tissue injuries heal in three to six weeks.” That is NONSENSE. Ligaments, tendons, nerves and brains are all soft tissues and they most definitely do not heal in three to six weeks like simple muscle strains. If you get completely better in less than 12 weeks and feel just as good as you did before the accident, then all you had were simple muscle strains and you should thank your lucky stars. You will not get much money for pain and suffering because you didn’t suffer much BUT you did get your health back. Your health is more important than money so be VERY grateful if your doctor gets you well in less than three months.
TORN LIGAMENTS
Ligaments hold your bones together at every joint in your body. Medical research is clear that a torn ligament is a far worse injury than a broken bone. A simple broken bone will heal in a few months and you
will have little, if any, residual pain thereafter.
However, a torn ligament never heals. It leaves your joint permanently unstable and the only way to completely repair the torn ligament is to surgically fuse your bones so they never move again at all. As drastic as that sounds, it is very often better than a lifetime of pain. If you do not have surgery, you will experience several years of chronic muscle spasms followed by progressively worsening degenerative arthritis in your joints for the rest of your life. Ask your doctor if you have torn ligaments.
When one or many of your ligaments are torn, your doctor can see the effect of the torn ligament on a special x-ray called a “stress” x-ray.
WHY DOES MY HAND TINGLE?
Your hand or arm can tingle (pins & needles) or be numb (no sensation) from injury to your neck and your foot or leg can tingle or be numb from injury to your low back (or even higher in your spine). There are 2 major reasons that your arm, hand, leg or foot may tingle.
DISC HERNIATION
A disc herniation in your spine will generally cause your arm or leg to tingle or be numb constantly. If your finger, hand, arm, toe, foot, or leg tingles or is numb all day long, all night long, 24 hours a day then it is very likely that you have a disc herniation in your spine and may require some professional back pain relief. Give Colorado Rehab a call today to discuss our back pain relief programs available in Denver.
TORN LIGAMENT
A torn ligament in your spine will more often than not cause your arm or leg to tingle or be numb intermittently (only some of the time.) If your finger, hand, arm, toe, foot or leg tingles only a few minutes at a time and only a few times a day, the most likely diagnosis is torn ligament. It is your doctor’s job to do the correct tests to determine which of these injuries you have.
