Get Past Your Back Pain Blues with Holistic PT Treatments
Most Americans will have temporary back pain at some point in their lives. However, when chronic back pain is not temporary, it can greatly impact your quality of life.
The good news is that you don’t have to live permanently with back ache. Taking a proactive approach, such as working with a physical therapist, can help you finally find back pain relief. Contact our office for more information on how your back pain can be relieved by physical therapy.
Common physical therapy treatments for chronic back pain
During your work with a physical therapist, your progress will be monitored to ensure that you recover. The goal is to eliminate back pain so you can live a normal life. A large part of working with a physical therapist is that you will learn strategies for movement and performing daily tasks in ways that prevent pain from recurring.
For example, while you are at home, at work or enjoying leisure activities, your therapist will show you proper posture techniques. You will also learn how to keep up with a regular exercise regimen to keep your supporting muscles strong, preventing back pain from coming back. If your weight contributes to your chronic back ache, in addition to exercise, you will learn nutritional advice to control your weight and keep back pain at bay.
How can physical therapy help relieve chronic back pain?
Once your back pain has been diagnosed, a personalized course of physical therapy will be outlined for you. Treatments for back ache will vary based on the diagnosis, your age, weight, physical ability and other factors.
Your course of treatment may include any of the following:
- Posture work to provide better support for your back
- Hot or cold treatments, or electrical stimulation, for pain relief
- Education on how to take better care of your back, such as proper methods of lifting, bending, sitting and sleep positions
- Manual therapy and spinal manipulation to improve joint mobility and relieve tissue pain
- Stretching and strength building exercises
Physical therapy is recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as one of the “first lines” of treatment for most types of chronic pain.
Altogether, our approach to diagnosing and treating back pain can benefit you by offering:
- Increased understanding of your pain experience
- Increased sense of control of your health
- Improved productivity
- Longer-lasting relief
- Lowered healthcare costs
- Improved activity tolerance
- Decreased reliance on pain medications or invasive procedures
- Decreased downtime (unlike back surgeries, which can require months of challenging recovery, often with little or no symptom improvement)
- Reduced risk of recurring issues and worsening tissue damage
- Improved spinal health
- Improved cost-effectiveness
How can a physical therapist determine the cause of chronic back pain?
Your journey with a physical therapist will begin with a discussion of your symptoms. Your therapist will also review your medical history for any past injuries or illnesses that may contribute to your current pain.
Your physical therapist will also perform a test to assess how you are able to move and function as a result of your back pain.
The diagnosis phase will also involve some tests to detect symptoms of more serious conditions. If your physical therapist suspects that there is a serious condition that contributes to your back pain, you are likely to be referred to a specialist for further testing. This will not be necessary in most cases.
Are you experiencing any of these types of back pain?
There are three main types of back pain:
- Chronic Back Pain: If back pain lasts longer than three months without subsiding, it is classified as chronic.
- Recurrent Back Pain: This occurs when acute back pain goes away for a while, but then comes back periodically.
- Acute Back Pain: Acute back pain is the most common type. This is a temporary pain that goes away in less than three months.
Back pain is usually not serious and will resolve on its own. Recurring pain and chronic pain, however, can be a sign of a more serious health problem.
There is a broad range of potential physical conditions that could be causing your back pain, which include osteoporosis, degenerative disk disease, a herniated disk, fractures, or lumbar spinal stenosis.
Get started on your personalized treatment plan today!
The key to this is to be proactive in standing up to your back pain. If the pain lasts longer than three months, it probably won’t go on its own.
Call our office today to schedule your first physical therapist appointment and get started on the path toward relief!
