Back Doctor Los Angeles


What is a Back Doctor?

Most people would acknowledge that the human back is a structural marvel, but that marvel has a dark side that has plagued humanity since we first walked upright.

Backs are home to a host of problems. They get sore, unable to bend, stiff and painful, and they do so in astonishing numbers. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke characterizes back pain as something that happens to “nearly everyone” and other estimates claim that some 80 percent of the population will experience back pain that is debilitating to some degree. In the United States, back pain is second only to headache as a neurological problem.

Bad backs are everywhere and many people will simply live with the problem. When pain begins to interfere with normal living, we may need the help of an expert in the diagnosis and treatment of back problems. At that point, it is the time to call on a back doctor,.

When is a back doctor needed?

If back pain is not debilitating, most of us take it as part of the normal wear and tear of life, treating it with acetaminophen, some rest and the application of heat or cold. If self-help is not enough, the primary care physician is often the first resort. After all, these generalists see people with back problems all the time.

Simple interventions are not always sufficient, however. The architecture of the back is enormously complicated and it is susceptible to an extraordinary range of potentially harmful conditions. Serious traumatic injury to the back is an obvious occasion for the intervention of a back specialist, but problems that persist despite basic intervention also call for the specialist’s educated eye and sophisticated methods of treatment.

What are some common injuries a back specialist works on?

The back is made up of bone, muscle, tendons, ligaments, cartilage and nerves, all interconnected and dependent on each other in order to function properly. Each component can be injured by a single major trauma or by the accumulation of small injuries over time, and the entire arrangement is subject to significant stress whenever we move. Ligaments can tear and muscles can be sprained or parts of the spine can become compressed or strained.

One major component of the back, the spinal cord, is implicated in many instances of back pain, in part because the abundance of nerves, both within and branching from the spinal cord, means that an injury to the area can easily become extremely painful.

For example, discs within the bony spinal column lie between the vertebrae, cushioning the bones and allowing movement of the spine. Those discs can be deformed by the stresses they routinely undergo. When that happens, the disc can bulge or rupture, putting pressure on a nerve and causing pain.

Back problems do not occur exclusively because of injury. The range of possible causes includes congenital abnormalities, inflammatory processes like rheumatoid arthritis, tumors, osteoporosis, metabolic disorders and a long list of potential contributors. Tracing a problem’s cause is complicated not only by the inherent complexity of the back, but also by the possibility of referred pain, when pain is felt in the back although its cause lies elsewhere.

What are some of the common solutions for these injuries?

The spectrum of available treatments is as broad as the range of possible causes, but it can be roughly divided into surgical and non-surgical options.

Except for severe injuries, patients and their doctors generally give first consideration to conservative treatments including medication, physical therapy, specific exercise regimens, massage and chiropractic manipulation. Less conventional treatments, like acupuncture, biofeedback, electrical nerve stimulation and nerve blocks, are often tried, although not all of them are clinically proven.

If those treatments fail, back surgery may be needed. Surgery can mean an outpatient procedure, done under local anesthetic, or an inpatient procedure with general anesthesia and a stay in the hospital. Imaging studies done by X-ray, CT scan or MRI will typically guide the surgeon’s approach. The surgery can be done either as a traditional open procedure or as a minimally invasive procedure in which the back surgeon operates using a miniature camera and instruments inserted through very small incisions.

Why Choose Dr. Mobin?

Even when surgery is not a last resort for an intractable problem, no one takes the decision to undergo back surgery lightly. Patients want to know that they have made the right decision. They want thorough consideration of all their options. Most of all, they want to know that they are in the right hands, but patients have no easy way to know if that is true.

Dr. Mobin understands the gravity of the decision and the natural concerns of his patients. An empathetic, patient-centered approach, however, is only one part of the equation. Dr. Mobin brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his practice.