Reclaim Your Life with Physical Therapy
As stated by the American Physical Therapy Association, back pain is the most common type of pain reported among Americans. In fact, one in every four Americans has experienced back pain in the last three months. Chronic back pain is defined as pain that lasts three months or longer. This type of pain can be caused by a number of factors, including spinal arthritis, aging, disc problems, and myofascial pain syndrome.
Spinal arthritis causes a slow thinning of the cartilage inside the spine, which can cause pain. A nerve may be compressed by a herniated or bulging disc. Spinal stenosis is characterized by a narrowing of the spinal canal, which can result in nerve pain. Myofascial pain syndrome is characterized by unexplained muscle tenderness and pain.
Whatever the cause of your chronic back pain, it does not have to be a part of your daily life. Contact us today to get started!
What does a physical therapy treatment plan look like?
Medication is a common treatment for back pain, usually for pain management. For the treatment of back pain, your doctor may prescribe NSAID pain relievers, corticosteroids, or antibiotics. This is fine for short-term relief, but if your pain persists, these medications can be dangerous.
Medication is simple: you pop it in your mouth, chase it with water, and your pain goes away quickly. However, they can have some unfavorable side effects over time, and in some cases, they can become habit-forming.
When taking NSAIDs, you run the risk of developing blood clots, or even sustaining a heart attack or stroke. Corticosteroids can cause cataracts, high blood sugar levels, and bone loss. Fortunately, there is a much safer and healthier option for treating chronic back pain: physical therapy.
Your physical therapist will ask you several questions about your medical history, lifestyle, and painful area during your initial consultation. This information will help your physical therapist create the best treatment plan for you and your specific needs, ensuring long-term results.
Your evaluation process will begin following your consultation. Depending on your pain and symptoms, your physical therapist will examine you and assess your posture, coordination, strength, balance, flexibility, blood pressure, and/or heart rate. This assessment will be both manual and visual.
After you’ve had a thorough evaluation, your physical therapist will develop a treatment plan for you, starting with passive physical therapy and progressing to active physical therapy. You may also be given exercises to do at home while you are not receiving treatment. All of this is done to reduce pain, prevent further injury, and provide you with the quickest recovery time possible.
How can physical therapy help manage chronic back pain?
If the back pain is caused by spinal stenosis or a bulging disc, a physical therapist may recommend a repeated movement program to alleviate numbness, pain, and weakness. McKenzie exercises and other progressive movement exercises may be included in the physical therapy treatment plan, in order to treat a variety of chronic back pain causes.
To retrain the deep muscles, stabilization exercises may be included. Before beginning any exercises to stabilize the spine, your physical therapist will demonstrate how to use the appropriate spinal and abdominal muscles.
Manipulation is another method for relieving chronic back pain. To reduce pain and increase mobility, short and rapid thrusting movements are performed over a joint.
A physical therapist may also employ a variety of passive modalities to alleviate chronic back pain. Ice and heat therapy can be used to improve blood flow, reduce inflammation, and alleviate pain.
Ultrasound is a common passive modality used by physical therapists. Ultrasound is a form of deep heating that uses sound waves to penetrate soft tissue. This method not only relieves back pain, but it also promotes healing of the affected area.
A physical therapist may also order a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator (TENS) unit. This device aids in the suppression of painful signals sent to the brain. It is suitable for use at home and on a long-term basis.
Another common treatment for chronic back pain is deep tissue massage. This manual method improves healing by increasing the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the affected areas, while also reducing muscle spasms and stiffness.
So, how else will physical therapy benefit me?
According to the NCBI, “In chronic low back without serious pathology, recommended primary conservative physical treatment preferences include exercise, yoga, biofeedback, progressive relaxation, massage, manual therapy, physical therapy and interdisciplinary rehabilitation.
A recent literature review with meta-analysis in patients with chronic lower back pain found moderate- to high-quality evidence that McKenzie exercises in physical therapy were superior to other rehabilitation interventions in reducing pain and disability.”
You don’t have to live with back pain any longer
If you are living with chronic back pain, it is time to take action. Contact us today to schedule a consultation with a physical therapist for your initial evaluation. Your physical therapist will work with your doctor to create a personalized treatment plan that is tailored to your specific condition and needs!
You’ll be on your way to reducing or eliminating your pain with both active and passive PT treatment methods. At the end of the road, you should be able to resume your regular activities with little or no pain.
