When To Call A Professional

Call your health care professional immediately if you develop severe back pain, especially if you also have pain or numbness in your arms or legs or if you lose control of your bowels or bladder.

Prognosis

About 60% of people respond to conservative therapy within one week, and 90% to 98% respond within 6 weeks. Surgical intervention has a high success rate when MRI or a CT scan demonstrates that the cause of the symptoms can be corrected.

Additional Info

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Information Clearinghouse National Insitutes of Health 1 AMS Circle Bethesda, MD 20892-3675 Phone: (301) 495-4484 Toll-Free: (877) 226-4267 Fax: (301) 718-6366 TTY: (301) 565-2966 http://www.niams.nih.gov/

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) 6300 North River Road Rosemont, IL 60018-4262 Phone: (847) 823-7186 Toll-Free: (800) 346-2267 Fax: (847) 823-8125 http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/

North American Spine Society 22 Calendar Court 2nd Floor LaGrange, IL 60525 Toll-Free: (877) 774-6337 http://www.spine.org/

American Physical Therapy Association 1111 North Fairfax St. Alexandria, VA 22314-1488 Phone: (703) 684-2782 Toll-Free: (800) 999-2782 TTY: (703) 683-6748 Fax: (703) 684-7343 http://www.apta.org/

Arthritis Foundation P.O. Box 7669 Atlanta, GA 30357-0669 Phone: (404) 872-7100 Toll-Free: (800) 283-7800 http://www.arthritis.org/