Second only to colds and the flu, back pain is the number two reason thousands of people head to their doctor's office each year! There are treatments that can relieve your pain and it doesn’t mean having to get back surgery.

“Throbbing, burning, it's just unbelievable pain,” says Paul Ciccione.

Paul Ciccione's been living with severe back pain for three years. He's seen a chiropractor to treat two herniated discs but even with intense therapy he wasn't getting better.

“It got so bad that if I was sitting down at a basketball game and got up to walk out the stadium sometimes I couldn't make it back to my car,” said Ciccione.

Now Paul gets epidurals to treat his pain. Two shots a year at MCG Health System's Chronic Pain Management Clinic.

“First epidural I got 50 percent relief that took a week and a half almost two weeks. The second week 100 percent relief,” said Ciccione.

Dr. Dan Martin, director of the clinic, says epidurals and cortisone injections work wonders in treating nerves that are the source of pain. Patients get relief from pain six months to a year. He says great alternatives to having surgery.

“Most of the time if you have acute herniated discs if you wait for 6-8 months it's going to resolve on its own,” says Dr. Dan Martin.

Back pain usually starts when the cushion between the vertebrae in the spine lose water and collapse. The pain is marked by discomfort or tension in the lower or upper part of the back including the buttocks and pelvis. Stress, obesity, sitting and muscle spasms are some factors.

But Dr. Martin warns getting surgery to fix back pain may be risky.

“Back surgery is something that you would like to avoid. Once you get surgery you can't change you mind and take it back,” said Dr. Martin.

So for Paul epidurals twice a year will do.

“The epidurals are working and as long as they relieve the pain for a couple of years at a time so far that good,” said Ciccione.