7 Low Back Pain Questions You MUST Talk About with Your Doctor

Here’s a straight forward list you and your doctor should be asking during your next visit for back or neck pain relief. 

It could be the difference between putting all the puzzle pieces together to form the solution to what’s causing your back pain, and having missing pieces that leaves a big whole lotta misdiagnosis. 

To start with: WHEN DID YOUR LOW BACK PAIN START? I know this sounds really simple, but it’s probably one of the most important questions to be asking. Was it due to a sports injury? Fall or accident? Or has this been just getting worse over the past couple months or years?

Getting an idea if this is an acute (or new injury) or chronic problem, if it’s due to a trauma, etc. will help the doctor gauge the severity of your back condition and take better steps towards creating a better treatment plan.

Personally, with my patients, I want to know what’s your best guess on what’s causing your pain? It’s such a great question, and can help answer so much.

2) “WHERE EXACTLY DOES IT HURT?” Being specific with your answer, such as “I feel it more around the belt line, on the right side only.” helps give better clues on what to focus on. Even better, point to the spot, or trace the pain and symptoms for your doctor. 

3) WHEN DO YOU FEEL THE LOW BACK PAIN? Is it noticed more in the morning or as the day goes on? Or what about certain activities like walking, standing, or sitting? Is it constant or does it come and go? These are all important questions to be asking, since it gives a better account of what you’re going through, and shows the triggers that are causing the pain. Avoiding those triggers usually helps you lessen future pain. 

Also, there’s more than one just one thing that can cause back pain, and knowing when and what is causing the pain can help the doctor reach a better diagnosis. 

4) WHAT DOES THE PAIN FEEL LIKE? Is it sharp or dull, does it feel like a shooting pain? Does it travel down the leg? Is it numbness or tingling instead? Is it constant or comes and goes? These are really important questions I like to discuss with patients, since it gives me a better idea if there’s possible nerve involvement (like with a herniated disc), or if it could be more in-line with something else like degenerative disc disease. 

5) RATE YOUR PAIN ON A 1-10 SCALE. I know everyone loves a subjective rating scale, but it does give a clear idea of what we’re dealing with is a slight, moderate or severe issue. Also, it can help your doctor take the appropriate steps in offering better pain management. 

If I can say one thing about this, unless you’re in the ER for the pain, please don’t say my pain is a 10. Smacking a hammer to your thumb would be a 10. Unless the pain is absolutely, without a doubt, no questions asked... give a more realistic number to your doctor.

The next two are really important to me and how I help build treatment plans with patients. They’re especially important because it helps not only with dealing with their pain, but how we may help improve the quality of their life.

6) HOW DOES THE PAIN AFFECT YOUR LIFE? What activities can and can’t you do now since you’ve had this problem? Are you still able to do your normal daily activities? Are you still able to go to the gym, play golf, play with the grand kids? 

These are all important questions to be asking, since it helps build into the next question.

7) WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS? Saving a great one for last, it’s probably the one that most people don’t ask, yet it’s so vital for getting the best treatment plan and outcome for your back pain. 

I want to know what my patients want to improve and work towards. Is it something as simple as I want to be able to walk to the mailbox without pain to I want to be able to train for a marathon without back pain slowing me down. 

Setting short-term and long-term goals with patients helps us create a treatment plan to work towards. It’s custom-tailored to each patient, and directly focuses on improving the things that matter. 

I can’t stress this enough, SET GOALS WITH YOURSELF! Be realistic with them and take small steps towards them, slow and steady wins the race. Set new goals once you accomplished one.

So I hope this list helps give you a better idea of what you and your doctor should be asking next time you’re in the office for back or neck pain.

If you have any other questions or comments, please leave them below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Thanks for watching!