When To Worry About Your
Back Pain in Vacaville

No one is exempted from feeling back pain at some point in their lives. The feeling is unpleasant, annoying, and it can ruin your day. Learn more here how chiropractic care can help back pain in Vacaville.

Of course, back pains are always manageable especially when the cause is not that serious. But when does it exactly start to become something more than you can handle on your own? What if your home remedies don't work? What should you do? These questions are some of the things that you're not quite ready to answer when the time comes that your back pain is becoming a serious matter.

If you feel like the pain on your back is becoming intense or some of your normal remedies don't work, there are red flags that you should look out for. These warning signs can help detect that something worse is happening to your back and through that, you can tell if there's a need for you to see a specialist right away.

When To See A Chiropractor in Vacaville For Back Pain

• Trauma - If you've been in a minor or serious trauma, your doctor in Vacaville will have to examine your back pain. These types of incidents can make your back pain into a worrying matter because it could indicate that something might be broken. It may have caused a fracture and probably have worsened especially if you didn't go to a specialist right away.
• Fever - It's normal for your back to feel achy and tight when you have the flu. However, an unresponsive fever paired by back pain could indicate that you might be suffering from a serious infection. It can indicate that something more systemic is happening to your body and that's what may be causing your back pain.
• Loss of bladder or bowel function - If you're having back pain and you're experiencing loss of bladder or bowel control, then it could indicate that you're suffering from a rare, but serious condition called cauda equina syndrome. This is a condition where the nerve roots found in the lower end of the spinal cord has been compressed and became paralyzed. The reason why this happened could be a result of a fracture, tumor, herniated disk, spinal stenosis, or spine trauma. It comes with symptoms that includes numbness and weakness of the legs. This one calls for a medical emergency and may need immediate attention.
• Numbness or tingling - Some people will just take over-the-counter (OTC) medications to stop the numbness or tingling sensation, but it could indicate that you might have nerve damage or irritation. Even if you've taken your OTC medications yet those unpleasant sensations don't go away, then you could be suffering from certain conditions such as spinal stenosis or herniated disc in which they're both known to cause nerve pressure. If these are left untreated, the prolonged nerve damage and irritation can cause permanent disabilities.
• Foot drop - When your toes drag along the ground when walking or your foot needs to be lifted higher to make up for the dragging, then you might be suffering from foot drop. This condition is accompanied by back pain and is a symptom of a greater issue such as brain problem, muscle problem, or nerve problem. A foot drop may appear like a simple physical symptom but it's something that you shouldn't ignore once you start experiencing it.
• Night pain - You may feel fine during daytime but as soon as you get to bed at night, your back starts to hurt and you're having a hard time sleeping. A pain that wakes you up could be a sign of disc degeneration or sprain, or perhaps something even worse like a cancer or tumor. This means that a night back pain is something that shouldn't be neglected and requires immediate attention.
• Unexplained weight loss - If your back pain in Vacaville suddenly caused you to have an unexplained weight loss, there's a chance that it's being caused by an infection or tumor. Your back pain may be triggered by either of those problems mentioned then eventually caused you to lose some weight.
• Pain lasting for several weeks - Most back pains improve within 6 weeks but if it's still severe after that much time has passed, it's time for you to see a specialist right away. There's no telling what the exact cause is but some analysis from the doctor could help diagnose your problem.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Alex Tam of Absolute Integrative Physical Medicine, call our team at (707) 474-5688.