Psychiatric or Psychological Therapy
A visit to a psychiatrist, a psychologist, or other mental health specialist can be helpful to people with long-lasting back problems because, sometimes, an imbalance of brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) may develop. Such an imbalance affects how pain signals are interpreted, regardless of which joints or muscles are sending the pain signals to the brain.
In addition, people with long-lasting back problems often develop some degree of clinical depression. This depression may or may not mean that a separate and treatable illness is present—after all, the pain itself can interfere with your daily activities, your sleep pattern, and your ability to concentrate. Such interference can be a symptom of chronic pain, of clinical depression, or of both.
A healthcare professional who specializes in how the brain works can help you sort out the connections between symptoms and specific illnesses. If you have a current depressive illness along with your back problem, taking an antidepressant medication most likely will relieve both problems. Even if you do not have a depressive illness (and most people with long-lasting low back problems do not), some antidepressant therapies are effective in managing chronic pain problems.
