Understanding your condition is the first step toward coping better and healing faster.
Take advantage of Inova's comprehensive health information library. Explore these articles, from basic to the latest in treatment options, to learn more about spine conditions and the numerous options for treating them.
Back and Neck Care
Some helpful quizzes for assessing your back pain.
Healthy Back
Back pain is one of the most common health problems today. There are ways to help yourself to maintain a healthy back.
What is Back and Neck Pain?
Even with today's technology, the exact cause of back and neck pain is hard to find. In most cases, back and neck pain may have many different causes.
Chronic Pain
Chronic pain, including back pain, can be caused by many illnesses and conditions, including stress or injury, being overweight, improper lifting, pregnancy, and diseases such as fibromyalgia and arthritis.
Low Back Pain
Detailed information specifically on lower back pain, including causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment
What is a Pinched Nerve?
Back pain may be caused by a pinched nerve. If you have pain, burning, or numbness, call your health care provider.
Chiropractic Medicine
Chiropractic medicine is based on the relationship between the alignment of the spine and the function of the body and the belief that the body can heal itself.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is the practice of puncturing the skin with needles at certain anatomical points in the body to relieve specific symptoms associated with many diseases.
Chronic Pain
Causes of chronic pain and steps you can take to ease ongoing discomfort.
Exercises for a Healthy Back
Although back pain can be the result of aging, degeneration, injury, lifting a heavy object, or stress, exercise of the back helps maintain a stronger back. Or, sometimes, all you need is to maintain exercise of the back to relieve back pain.
How to Get Out of Bed with Back Pain
Follow the steps in this video when you need to get out of bed if you have back pain.
Massage
When traditional medicine doesn’t relieve the pain, many people turn to alternative treatments such as massage therapy.
Ice Packs vs. Warm Compresses For Pain
It can sometimes be confusing whether to use heat or cold when treating sore muscles or an injury. Click the link above to find out more.
Targeted Back Exercises
Stretching your back as an everyday habit helps you stay limber and reduce back stiffness, especially if working at a desk all day. Download this pdf for a quick set of exercises you can do every day.
Neck Pain and Problems
Neck pain can result from many different causes – injury to muscles, tendons, or ligaments; arthritis; a herniated disc; or a tumor.
Whiplash Injury
Whiplash is an injury caused by the neck bending forcibly forward and then backward, or vice versa. The injury usually involves the muscles, discs, nerves, and tendons in the neck.
What to Do About Neck Pain
Most neck pain is caused by sleeping on a bed that’s too soft, poor posture, stress, neck strains or degenerative joint disease that occurs when the joints of the neck become inflamed or a disc pushes outward from its normal position.