Relieve Your Nagging Back Pain with Physical Therapy
Live More Comfortably by Saying Goodbye to Back Pain
Have you been living with low back pain? Then get started on a physical therapy treatment plan!
Physical therapy is a well-known profession that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of low back pain. In fact, one of the most common reasons people visits a physical therapist is for low back pain.
Our field’s researchers have even developed concise and comprehensive practice guidelines to assist therapists in managing back pain in their patients.
Does this sound like you?
Did you know that the World Health Organization estimates that approximately 149 million workdays are lost due to back pain? It is a sensation that is all too common for millions of people.
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.
No matter what type of back pain you are considering, physical therapy can help you find relief so you can get back to your life.
Continue reading to find out how physical therapy can help you find lasting relief from your lower back pain!
1. Physical therapy treatments are safe, natural, and non-invasive, with no harmful side effects.
The risk for low back pain tends to increase with age, but people of all ages can struggle with this broad condition.
Fortunately, physical therapy services that are proven effective for low back pain—including corrective exercises and spinal manipulation—are safe and appropriate for folks from all walks of life. If a specific service is contraindicated for you, your physical therapist can deliver plenty of other treatments to support your healing.
Lastly, physical therapists are experts at identifying how low back pain limits a person’s participation in daily activities, and how these limitations can be resolved or compensated for. After all, your progress outside the clinic matters even more than your progress inside the clinic!
2. Treatment plans are designed toward each patient’s individual needs, in order to treat the root of the issue.
Based on the current clinical practice guidelines created by the American Physical Therapy Association’s Orthopaedic Section, a person presenting with low back pain can be classified into one of several distinct treatment categories, based on a thorough examination. This type of systematic categorization is cost-effective and beneficial since it helps patients receive services specifically designed for their needs.
Thanks to their extensive training, a physical therapist can skillfully tease out hidden issues contributing to your back pain condition, such as nerve impingement, movement incoordination, poor core muscle activation, and range of motion limitations. These are issues that are often overlooked or under-addressed by other professionals—and explain why interventions that just provide symptom relief are often not effective in the long term.
In other words, if underlying issues like instability or incoordination aren’t addressed, your issue is likely to recur! By addressing the underlying causes of your back pain and then systematically managing these issues with personalized treatment based on research, a physical therapist can alleviate your symptoms and reduce your likelihood of chronic suffering.
3. Your physical therapist can help you avoid future pain or injury, so you can enjoy a comfortable life in the long-term.
Low back pain is so common that most people will have it at least once in a lifetime. It’s not always clear what triggers back pain in the first place, and most experts agree that there are usually multiple issues at play, including activity level, occupation, age, family and medical history, and the presence of other health conditions like smoking, obesity, and diabetes.
A physical therapist can work with you to help you identify and modify your preventable risk factors. For example, sitting too much is correlated with lower back pain. By helping you control your pain and improve your physical function and ergonomic environments, a physical therapist makes it easier for you to increase your physical activity level and minimize the amount of time you spend sitting.
Ready to get started on a pain-free life?
Our physical therapy team always considers the big picture of your condition and will work with you to modify your daily tasks so that you feel successful, safe, and confident.
If you are living with back pain, we can help you live more comfortably. Contact SMaRT Physical Therapy today to get started on the first steps of your treatment plan!