Lower Back Pain

Spinal Diagnostics


Chances are you’ll experience an acute bout of lower back pain at some point during your adult life, but for about 5-10% of patients, the pain turns into a chronic, debilitating problem. The doctors at Spinal Diagnostics have extensive experience developing customized treatments using one or more interventional options that help patients finally get the relief they need. If you’re ready to return to a more active lifestyle, schedule an appointment online or call one of the offices in Tualatin, Portland, or Newberg, Oregon, today.

Lower Back Pain Q & A

What commonly causes lower back pain?

Lower back pain, which is also called lumbago, arises from numerous possible causes affecting the soft tissues, bones, facet joints, discs, and nerves in the spinal cord. Through middle age, lower back pain is often caused by injuries to muscles or bones like muscle strains. As you get older, your lower back pain is more likely to develop due to degenerative changes that happen due to daily stress and repetitive movements.

Some of the most common causes of back pain include:

  • A herniated disc
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Bone spurs
  • Spinal stenosis
  • Degenerative disc disease

Although these conditions arise from different problems, they all cause pain by compressing and irritating the nearby nerves.

What symptoms might I experience in addition to pain?

The pain caused by lower back conditions can range from a mild ache to a debilitating, shooting pain. When a nerve is pinched or damaged, you’ll also experience symptoms that can develop anywhere along the nerve as it travels down your leg or to other areas of your body. Classic nerve-related symptoms include tingling, numbness, and muscle weakness.

How is lower back pain treated?

When you can’t get sufficient relief from your lower back pain with medications or physical therapy, the next step is interventional pain medicine at Spinal Diagnostics. The doctors work with you to find a customized solution that treats the underlying condition and the severity of your pain.

These are a few examples of interventional treatments the doctors at Spinal Diagnostics often use to treat lower back pain:


Epidural steroid injections, facet joint injections, and sacroiliac joint injections are three examples of spinal injections that effectively relieve lower back pain. Injections contain a local anesthetic, steroids to reduce inflammation—or both.

Radiofrequency neuroablation

Using a needle that delivers precisely targeted radiofrequency energy, your doctor blocks nerve signals by creating a wound on the targeted nerve. This procedure produces pain relief that lasts nine months to more than two years.

Minimally invasive surgery

The doctors at Spinal Diagnostics perform many types of minimally invasive surgery to relieve lower back pain, such as lumbar decompression procedures (MILD procedure, interspinous indirect decompression spacers), spinal cord stimulator implants and generator exchanges.

Spinal cord stimulation

Spinal cord stimulation uses electrical signals to block nerve transmissions. A small generator is implanted under your skin and wires are placed near the targeted nerves in your spine to provide long-term pain relief.

To find relief for lower back pain, schedule an appointment online or call Spinal Diagnostics today.