Mercy's Dr. Harrison Linder Discusses Back Pain Treatments

Back pain is one of the most common physical ailments. Many adults will experience it at some point in their life. For most part, the pain will go away on its own, but if it doesn't, it can be debilitating.

There are some treatments that don't involve potentially addictive medication.

Walking down the hall without a cane is a big deal for Lillian Jones. She suffered from debilitating back pain for years.

"It just really hurt to the point where I was crying when I'd get up every morning. I knew it's going to be hurting. I just tried to bear with it as much as I could. I just got to the point where I couldn't take it no more. It was making me depressed," Jones said.

Jones was determined to avoid taking opioid painkillers.

"I did not want the drug because I know how easy it is to get dependent on the drug, and I didn't want that. So I wanted another way of getting rid of the pain without that," Jones said.

So she went to see pain management expert Dr. Harrison Linder of the Center for Interventional Pain Medicine at Mercy Medical Center.

According to Dr. Linder, the first step is targeting the location of the pain.

"Our spinal anatomy is very complex. We have bones, nerves, muscles. We need to find out first where the pain is coming from with a physical exam, (and getting the patient's) history, to really target the pain and try different methods," Dr. Linder said.

Treatment methods may include physical therapy, exercise, stretching, acupuncture, over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs and prescription medications that are not addictive.

"Try to avoid opioid medication, try to increase function without the side effects and terrible addiction potential. We have different types of minimally invasive injections that can decrease pain and increase function and get patients up and moving again," Dr. Linder said.

For example, Dr. Linder has given Jones epidural injections in her back, and they seem to be working.

"It's a lot better. Believe me when I tell you. No more tears. That's all I keep telling everybody. They say, 'How you doing?' I say, 'No more tears,'" Jones said.

To view Dr. Harrison Linder’s interview regarding back pain treatments, click here.