Wednesday, September 21, 2016

How Does Your Lower Back Pain Affect Your Sex-Life?

That’s a question your specialist should ask, but often doesn’t if you are an older patient with low-back pain, according to a report presented last year at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons meeting.

Specifically, the researchers asked, 1,235 study participants aged 63 to 68, “In the past week, how has pain affected your sex life?” (published site)

The study was a subgroup analysis from the large 5-year Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT) that involved 2,500 patients that looked at three of the most common back conditions and compared surgical and non-surgical treatments.

The conditions studied included herniated discs, spinal stenosis and degenerative spondylolisthesis (spon-dil-oh-lis-thee-sis). However you pronounce it, degenerative spondylolisthesis is a big tongue twister of a word that boils down to lower back pain that most often affects older people.

The degenerative form results from the discs between the vertebral bones in the lower back losing their sponginess. Like shock absorbers in your car, the discs between the individual bones act as spongy cushions between the bone and help keep the vertebrae aligned vertically.

When these discs degenerate with age, they lose their elastic quality and become compressed, the alignment of bones then becomes less stable allowing them to slip or slide forward. Some people never notice, more often however, the forward slippage results in swelling and inflammation that pinches the nerve and causes pain.

The SPORT researchers’ analyses found that 70 percent of older participants considered sex “relevant” to their lives, and those patients with degenerative spinal conditions, who had been treated with surgery, reported less pain interfering with their sex-lives compared to those treated without surgery.

Prior studies have found that up to 60 percent of physicians never ask their older patients if their lower back pain is affecting their sex-lives.

If you are experiencing lower back pain, Dr. Michael Gomez’s approach is to tailor treatment to you in partnership with a specialized physical therapy and rehabilitation center as well as connections with the excellent hospitals in the county in a seamless continuum of care. 
Considering what is the optimal treatment for you depends on your specific diagnosis, age, and your personal needs and preferences, including ‘how does the pain affect your sex-life?’

Dr. Gomez helps you consider your entire personal medical condition and your personal preferences as the best way to ensure you receive the optimal treatment for you.

To find out more, please visit the website or call 786-456-4152.

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