Describing Your Back Pain Symptoms
Getting the doctor to understand your back pain symptoms can make the difference between speedy recovery or long term pain. The overwhelming majority of back pain sufferers who participated in a recent survey felt that the quality of their dialogue with practitioners was more important in diagnosing a problem than any clinical or technical procedure.
Why? Pain can’t be seen, and its intensity cannot be measured. It has to be described, and you’re the only one who can do it. With this point in mind, here are suggestions from participants for making your examination more productive:
If you’ve already seen several practitioners, or if your back pain symptoms have lasted a long time, mention this in advance to the practitioner’s receptionist, and request an appointment time that is either longer man usual or held during non-rush hours.
Write a short chronology of your condition. This one-page report – at the most – isn’t meant to take the place of your verbal explanation, but it will help you organize your thinking. And good practitioners appreciate a concisely written history.
If a written report seems presumptuous to you, or if it’s just not your style, consider making some notes for your own use.
When you’re in pain and in need of help, it’s difficult to feel that you should examine the practitioner as carefully as you hope he will examine you, but try. The success or failure of your back pain treatment often hinges on your rapport with the practitioner. Trust your instincts. If you don’t have a good feeling about the practitioner, no matter how esteemed his or her reputation, don’t proceed with any back pain treatment or even with an examination. (Naturally, if you’re in acute pain, you will want to get whatever immediate relief you can.)
In Oh, My Aching Back, a bestselling book by Dr Leon Root, the author states: The inability of most patients to clearly explain their back pain symptoms and what bothers them is a long-standing source of grievance to modern doctors.
Ironically, participants in the recent survey had just the opposite complaint. In effect, ‘Modern doctors don’t listen well, don’t believe that you can contribute anything intelligent, and seem put off if you can.’
This situation may now be improving, as more doctors are being trained to listen to their patients and try to understand their specific back pain symptoms. However, many practitioners are under pressure to deal with each patient within a limited time, and this may sometimes lead them to appear rather brusque and impatient. Don’t be put off by this.
Just give them the relevant information about your back pain symptoms, and quietly and firmly ask the questions you need to ask.
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Tags: back pain symptoms
