Back Pain and Injury
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If back pain is preventing you from living the life you want, University of Iowa Health Care specialists can help.
The causes and symptoms of back pain vary widely. It's important to choose providers who can diagnose your pain correctly and treat it effectively.
Our team includes experts in orthopedics, neurology, spine surgery, physical therapy, sports medicine, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and other specialties.
As part of a leading academic medical center, they offer the latest surgical and nonsurgical treatments. They'll develop a plan of care tailored just for you.
If you've had unsuccessful treatment or surgery elsewhere, a second opinion from our experts can provide you with new options.
Your UI Health Care team focuses on relieving your pain, helping you heal, and returning you to the activities you love
Back pain relief without surgery
With the right treatment, most people with back pain don't need surgery.
UI Health Care offers the newest and most effective nonsurgical treatment options. Your care plan might include:
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Medications and injections: Anti-inflammatories, pain medications, and injectable medications can calm inflammation and relieve pain.
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Physical medicine: The right therapy can help reduce your pain, improve your balance and strength, and restore your flexibility. Your therapist will make a custom plan for you based on your diagnosis, goals, and needs.
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Nutrition and lifestyle changes and avoiding or stopping use of nicotine products can also lessen the impact of back pain.
Advanced surgical treatments and high patient satisfaction
If other treatments haven't helped your back pain, or if you have an injury that needs repair, surgery may be the best option for you.
UI Health Care specialists have extensive experience in surgery to relieve back pain.
They perform more surgeries than the benchmark average. They're experts in all procedures, from herniated disc repairs to complex issues like spinal fractures, spinal tumors, and scoliosis.
And they're among the first in the field to use the newest, gold-standard surgical techniques.
The results speak for themselves. Patients who have spine surgery at UI Health Care have fewer complications than average, so they get on their feet and soon start moving. And they report higher-than-average satisfaction with their surgeries.
Back pain and injury treatments
- Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF)
- Back brace
- Changes in lifestyle or activity
- Cold packs and heat therapy
- Discectomy
- Dynamic stabilization
- Foraminotomy
- Injections
- Kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty
- Laminectomy
- Laminoplasty
- Lumbar disc replacement
- Minimally invasive spine surgery
- Physical therapy
- Revision surgery
- Sacroiliac (SI) joint fusion
- Scoliosis surgery
- Spinal decompression
- Spinal fusion
- Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF)
Back pain and injury conditions treated
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Back spasms
- Cervical myelopathy
- Cervical radiculopathy
- Chordoma
- Degenerative disc disease
- Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hypertrophy (DISH)
- Failed back surgery syndrome
- Flat-back syndrome
- Herniated disc
- Kyphosis
- Lumbar stenosis
- Muscle strain
- Myelopathy
- Osteoarthritis
- Osteoporosis
- Radiculopathy
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Sacroiliac (SI) joint pain
- Schwannoma
- Sciatica
- Scoliosis
- Spinal fracture
- Spinal stenosis
- Spinal tumor
- Spondylolysis
- Spondylolisthesis
- Stiffness
Our Care Team
- Emergency Medicine
- Orthopedics and Rehabilitation
- Orthopedics and Rehabilitation