If your back trouble is not improving, or, having got better, keeps recurring, or your GP thinks there could be some uncommon reason for your trouble, your GP may suggest that you should be seen by a specialist. This will mean going to the specialist’s rooms or going to a hospital as an out-patient (or being admitted as an in-patient for a day, for investigation) to attend a consultant’s clinic in the orthopaedic or rheumatology or neurology or rehabilitation department. The appointment may be for a date weeks or even months ahead, though if your case is considered urgent on medical grounds, you may be seen more quickly.

In the letter of referral, your GP will give the specialist a history of your trouble, their own conclusions from the examination(s) you were given and any tests that have been carried out, such as X-rays.

The specialist’s aim will be twofold:

1. to find out the originand cause of the pain.

2. to suggest other forms of treatment, possibly sugery.

The questions you are asked, the examination and any further investigations that are ordered by the specialist will all be directed to this purpose, their scope depending on whether this is your first spell of back trouble, or a recurrent problem which has not yielded to treatment.

The specialist will want to know about your previous medical history, operations, severe injuries or prolonged illnesses, and whether you are currently having treatment for any other condition.

When the tests and investigations have been completed, the specialist may be in a position to tell you whether there is any serious disease. If the specialist does not reassure you on this point, do not hesitate to ask.

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