Which doctor treats the spine? Which specialist should I contact for back pain?

Today, spinal pathology is one of the most common. For this reason, there are many specialists involved in the treatment of diseases associated with it. It is not surprising that not every patient knows which doctor treats the spine for one or another pathology.

Specialists able to help

Currently, there are a number of doctors involved in the treatment of diseases of the spine. The main ones are doctors of the following specialties:

• therapist;
• pediatrician;
• neuropathologist;
• chiropractor;
• rehabilitologist;
• surgeon;
• neurosurgeon.

Due to such a large number of specialists, it is not so easy to determine which doctor treats the spine in each case.

Therapist

A doctor in this specialty is a doctor to whom patients with spinal diseases first come. This is due to the prevalence of doctors of this type and the relative availability of their help. The patient can not guess which doctor treats the spine in adults, and immediately consult a therapist. Depending on which pathology the therapist suspects, he will refer the patient to a specialist.

In relatively simple cases, this doctor is able to independently provide assistance. We are talking about diseases such as:

• vertebrogenic lumbalgia;
• osteocondritis of the spine.

In more difficult situations, the therapist will examine the patient and determine which doctor will cure the spine in each case.

Pediatrician

This specialist provides approximately the same range of medical services as a therapist, but he is involved in the treatment of minor patients. At the same time, the pediatrician is far from always engaged in the fight against even the simplest diseases of the spine on his own. This is due to the fact that this pathology is much less likely to affect pediatric patients. Her appearance indicates either the formation of scoliosis, which the surgeon is engaged in, or the formation of a serious neurological pathology, which is the field of activity of the neuropathologist. It is to these specialists that the pediatrician will refer his little patient.

Neurologist

Most often, to the question of which doctor treats the back and spine, this specialist is the correct answer. The neuropathologist deals with all the problems of this area due to the fact that with any type of lesion, the spinal cord and nerve fibers extending from it are usually affected.

It is necessary to contact this specialist for the following reasons:

1. This doctor specializes in providing neurological medical care, unlike the therapist and pediatrician, for whom this area is only one of the areas of activity.
2. This specialist has more opportunities to refer to such complex types of examinations as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.

That is why, if a person does not know which doctor treats the spine in adults, as well as in children, he is most likely recommended to visit a neurologist.

Chiropractor

This specialty involves the use of medical techniques performed exclusively with the help of hands. A chiropractor, like a neuropathologist, can be advised to a person who does not know who is treating scoliosis of the spine, which doctor is dealing with other problems associated with the back.

This specialty has a number of features, the main ones of which are the following:

• the doctor does not use medications during the treatment process;
• usually the treatment of such a specialist is not basic, but additional.

A chiropractor will first conduct a diagnosis before starting a rehabilitation course. He also performs it using manual exposure techniques. After completing the course of treatment, he carries out preventive measures in order to prevent exacerbation of pathology.

Rehabilitologist

Patients do not get to this specialist in the first stages of treatment. All patients who do not know which doctor treats spinal protrusions, spinal hernias, scoliosis, and other diseases in this area are not referred to him. This doctor is engaged in the restoration of the functioning of previously damaged systems after the end of the active stage of treatment with doctors of such specialties as a therapist, neuropathologist, surgeon or neurosurgeon.

In order to obtain the highest quality and fastest effect, the rehabilitologist comprehensively applies the following techniques:

• drug treatment;
• physiotherapeutic effect;
• physiotherapy exercises
• psychotherapeutic techniques;
• restriction of certain types of physical activity in a patient.

This specialist does not deal with all patients, but only those who have at least some kind of rehabilitation potential. More often we are talking about patients, at least not of senile age, capable and willing to at least partially restore their physical and social activity.

Typically, a rehabilitation specialist is necessary for patients after the following problems with the spine:

1. Condition after surgical treatment of the spinal cord.
2. Spinal injuries (in the presence of rehabilitation potential).
3. Condition after hemorrhage in the spinal cord.
4. Fractures and protrusion of the vertebrae.

Due to the rehabilitative effect, physical and social activity can be fully or partially restored in patients.

Surgeon

It is to this doctor that patients who do not know which doctor treats the joints and spine are referred. Moreover, such a specialist is engaged in the fight against this pathology in people of any age.

In the case of pathology of the spine and joints, ordinary surgeons working in clinics do not engage in specialized treatment. They provide dynamic monitoring of patients with such problems, provide recommendations for strengthening the spine, conservative treatment of joints, and eliminating the symptoms of the disease. If a serious problem with the spine or joints is revealed, such specialists refer their patients for treatment to neurosurgeons, traumatologists or orthopedists in specialized medical institutions.

Neurosurgeon

There are few doctors in this specialty. They are the ones who deal with the most serious problems with the spine. The neurosurgeon is the surest answer to the question of which doctor treats the spine.

Such a doctor differs from other specialists in the following features:

1. He is engaged in the treatment of those patients who could not be provided with sufficiently effective help by other doctors.
2. In order to eliminate the problem with the spine or to reduce pain, restore the functional activity of the patient, he primarily applies surgical methods of exposure.
3. To start specialized treatment, he needs the results of such serious examination methods as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.

Neurosurgeons do not work in ordinary clinics. Such doctors can be consulted only in large specialized clinics involved in the provision of high-tech care.

Possible methods of influencing pathology

Diseases of the spine are among the most common. Currently, the following exposure options are used to combat them:

1. Drug treatment.
2. Physiotherapeutic procedures.
3. Physiotherapy exercises.
4. Massage.
5. Spa treatment.
6. Surgery.

Each of these options for combating diseases is used at different stages of their development.

Drug treatment

The most widely used medication is prescribed by physicians, neuropathologists and surgeons. Doctors of these specialties often recommend the following drugs:

• non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
• preparations containing structural components for the formation of intervertebral cartilage;
• means for increasing bone density;
• analgesics, including narcotic.

Among the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, Nimesulide, Ketorolac and Diclofenac are most widely used. Medicines from this group can be prescribed both in tablet and injection form. Their distinctive feature is the negative effect on the gastric mucosa. Moreover, these drugs reduce the severity of inflammatory and pain syndrome in the spine.

Preparations containing structural components for the formation of intervertebral cartilage, as well as strengthening bone density, are prescribed not so much for therapeutic as for prophylactic purposes. These funds can somewhat slow down the destruction of the vertebrae and intervertebral structures, but are not able to completely stop this pathological process.

Analgesics are used to reduce pain in patients in whom the action of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs was ineffective. If conventional painkillers do not help, then the patient may be prescribed narcotic drugs.

Physiotherapy

Regardless of which doctor treats a hernia of the spine, scoliosis or other pathology of the back, at one stage or another, he will prescribe physiotherapeutic procedures to his patient. An exception is those cases when patients have contraindications to their conduct.

The most common among physiotherapeutic techniques used in pathology of the spine are the following:

• UHF;
• magnetotherapy;
• darsonvalization;
• electrophoresis with various drugs (for example, novocaine);
• electropulse stimulation.

Thanks to these techniques, the process of impulse exchange between nerve cells of the spine can be improved, regeneration can be accelerated, and blood flow levels can also increase. As a result, the majority of patients get to the physiotherapist, regardless of which doctor treats the lumbar spine or its other departments.

Physiotherapy

This technique is also very often used in the fight against spinal diseases. Physical therapy helps patients as follows:

1. Allows by gradually increasing the load to achieve sufficient functioning of the spine.
2. Helps strengthen back muscles, which leads to improved fixation of the spine in an optimal position.
3. Helps to strengthen not only the musculoskeletal system, but also the cardiovascular system.

A specialist in physiotherapy exercises will help in the development of these techniques. Most often, a nurse acts in his role, much less often - a sports doctor. Almost all patients with back problems and a sufficient level of rehabilitation potential get to such doctors, regardless of which doctor treats spinal curvature.

Massage

Such a technique has become more and more popular over the past decade. Thanks to it, it is possible to reduce or increase the tone in certain muscle groups, improve blood flow at the site of exposure, and also relieve nervous tension in the patient.

At present, massage therapists at a professional level possess manual therapists, as well as other medical workers who have undergone special additional education. Such specialists are also needed, regardless of which doctor treats scoliosis of the spine in adults and children.

Spa treatment

This treatment option improves the well-being of the vast majority of patients with spinal diseases. In the process of spa treatment, the following methods are usually used:

1. Water traction.
2. Water massage options.
3. Mud therapy.
4. Different forms of wraps.
5. Standard medical physiotherapeutic techniques.

Sanatorium treatment has a good effect on a person also for the reason that he gets the opportunity for a long time to avoid everyday physical activities that reduce the effectiveness of therapy.

Surgery

This option is used only in cases where other methods have proven ineffective or impossible to use. Currently, surgical treatment of the spine is carried out in specialized neurosurgical medical centers.