How to Talk to Your Doctor About Back Pain

You must communicate with your doctor effectively in order for your back pain to be diagnosed correctly and treated properly. Problems associated with back pain are so common and so varied that doctors have no idea how to proceed if their patients do not know how to talk with them. Good doctors will know how to elicit meaningful responses, but it helps if patients work at the problem, too.

Instructions

Learn to Talk to Your Doctor About Back Pain

• 1

  Use descriptive terms when you talk to your doctor about back pain. Burning, shooting, dull and hot are all good ways to describe what you're feeling.

• 2

  Pinpoint how and when your back pain began. It makes a difference whether your back pain stems from a specific activity or whether you just woke up with it one morning. Also, you may want to figure out whether your back pain could be attributed to a recent bout of illness.

• 3

  Tell your doctor specifically when your back hurts. You'll need to tell your doctor whether your back hurts sporadically or all the time, and whether it occurs after a specific action like coughing, bending over or sneezing.

• 4

  Describe the intensity and duration of your back pain to your doctor. Your doctor will want to know if the pain is jabbing or aching for short periods of time or whether it stays with you all day long.

• 5

  Think about what makes your back feel better. The things that make your back feel better, such as heat therapy or lying flat on a bed, may be able to help your doctor pinpoint the exact cause of your back ache.

• 6

  Determine the time of day that your back doesn't hurt so much. Think about whether you wake up with pain, if it goes away during the day or if it increases in intensity as the day progresses.

• 7

  Include details that may not seem important or that may be embarrassing when you talk to your doctor about back pain. For example, you'll want to mention if you're currently in an emotionally stressful situation or have taken steroids in the past.