Back injuries can be extremely painful and debilitating. Unfortunately, more than one in four Americans suffer from some form of musculoskeletal impairment, many of which will need treatment from back surgeons.

People use their spines for virtually every bodily movement, which means that back injuries can affect numerous aspects of one's body. Therefore, it's important to seek out help from brain and spine surgeons immediately after noticing there might be an issue to prevent any damage from worsening.

Here are a few indicators that you may have a spinal injury or impairment:

• Pain:  One of the more common damaged areas of the spine, the cervical disc, acts as a natural shock absorber. When a disc is damaged or out of place, vertebrae can come in contact, which can lead to serious pain.Fortunately, over 90% of people suffering from cervical disc disorders will get better overtime with simple, conservative treatments. However, many others will require the help of a cervical spine surgeon.
• Control of limbs:  As stated previously, the spine plays an integral part of virtually every body movement. Those with back injuries may find that they are unable to use their limbs to the full extent. Some may simply feel less sensation in small appendages, such as fingers, while others may be unable to lift an entire arm.
• Loss of motion:  In conjunction, even if there is no numbness or loss of sensation, a patient's body motion may still be very limited. This often manifests as the inability to bend over or twist the neck back and forth. However, limited motion of limbs can also indicate a spinal problem.
• Loss of bladder or bowel control:  This may come as somewhat of a surprise, but the same loss of sensation that can occur in limbs can occur in other muscles and organs in the body as well. Namely, those for expelling waste. Some patients with spinal disorders completely lose control of their bowels and bladders. If this occurs, it is considered to be a state of emergency, and the patient should be taken to a spine institute or back surgeon facility immediately. Checking for minor leakage is a good way to prevent these conditions from worsening.

Fortunately for those who may find themselves in these unfortunate circumstance, the past three decades have seen the development of spinal bio-mechanics, the proliferation of sophisticated spinal instrumentation devices, advances in bone fusion techniques, the refinement of anterior approaches to the spine, and the development of micro-surgical techniques for less invasive back surgery.

Don't suffer any longer than you have to. A single visit to a back surgeon could have you back on your feet in no time.