When a patient presents with chronic back pain, the doctor must do a physical examination and take a patient history to try to determine the cause of the back pain. Additional tests may be ordered to look further into the problem.
Several types of back injuries have treatments that are automatically done for that type of problem. However, when it comes to chronic back pain that is not causing severe issues with quality of life, doctors often have to choose what they feel is both best for the patient and what they are most comfortable doing as a physician.