10 Questions to be answered while meeting your spine specialist for your back and neck pain.

• How long do you have this pain?
• How and when did your pain start?
• What is your main problem?

1. Neck pain or Neck Pain radiating to your arms?
2. Only radiating pain to your arms with pins and needles or weakness and numbness in your arm?
3. Mid-back pain?
4. Lower back pain or low back pain radiating to your buttock and/or leg(s)?
5. Only radiating pain to your legs with pins and needles in your arm or weakness and numbness in your arm?
6. Difficulty in walking with urine and motion disturbance?

Which pain is more?

1. Back Pain or Leg Pain
2. Neck pain or arm pain
3. Overall body pain

• What always makes your back and neck problem worse? When is the back pain Worst? (Includes the aggravating factor and time of day, week, month, seasons, etc.)
• What always makes it better (even if only a little)? Does any medication help you to get relieved of that pain? If so mention
• Description of the back or neck pain, or other types of pain you came across E.g. Is the pain sharp, dull, hot, electrical, burning, crushing, tingling, throbbing, mixed? Other?
• Does it have any effects on your job or day-to-day routine? Sex life? Social life?
• What are the nature of the job and working hours per week? Are you satisfied with your job? Or you are overworked physically/ mentally?
• How intense is your back/ neck pain “right now”, on average/typical, at best, and at worst on a 0-10 scale (10=intense).

Be prepared to answer all the above…

Dr. Vignesh Pushparaj MBBS.,D Ortho., AO FISS, FISS(Netherland & USA)

Consultant Spine Surgeon