Say Goodbye to Lower Back Pain With Physical Therapy!
Many people suffer from lower back pain and are unsure how to find long-term relief. Dealing with this type of pain impacts daily life and can take away time you would typically spend relaxing, working, and spending time with your family.
If you have back pain, you know that it can make it difficult to enjoy life. Not to mention that it can make a person feel irritable, and depressed, and contribute to various other health issues.
Lower back pain is the leading cause of activity limitation and work absence in the majority of the world, imposing a significant economic burden on individuals, households, communities, industry, and governments.
You don’t have to live with back pain forever. A licensed physical therapist will guide you through the appropriate therapy treatments so that you can return to your normal life without pain. To learn more, please contact Balance in Motion office today!
How can physical therapy treat my lower back pain?
Your physical therapist will ask you a series of health-related questions about your medical history and lower back pain during your first visit to our office. Giving them this information will enable your physical therapist to provide you with the best recovery plan possible, allowing you to reap long-term benefits.
Your physical therapist will also conduct a thorough examination of your body. Your physical therapist may assess your flexibility, strength, balance, posture, coordination, blood pressure, and heart and breathing rates based on your symptoms. They can also evaluate your back and surrounding areas for tightness using their hands. They can also assess your mobility visually.
Your physical therapist can also give you special exercises to do at home during your treatment plan to relieve discomfort, prevent re-injury, reduce strain, and speed up your recovery time. They can also prescribe various devices or equipment that may aid in your healing, as well as spend time educating you on the source of your pain and pain relief techniques.
Active vs. passive physical therapy
During the course of your treatment, you may be given active or passive physical therapy treatments. Active physical therapy differs from passive therapy in that it requires the patient to perform activities rather than treatments that the therapist performs on the patient. These exercises are typically used later in therapy after your lower back pain has subsided enough to allow you to perform exercises and stretches without discomfort.
Your physical therapist can recommend a variety of exercises. Targeted stretching, stability exercises, flexibility training, and strength training are all standard. Some of these exercises will increase your range of motion, while others will strengthen and restore the muscles around affected areas to provide proper support for those parts of your body.
Lower back pain can be so incapacitating that you can’t function normally. It can obstruct everything! As a result, it is critical for a physical therapist to reduce your pain as much as possible so that you can begin participating in your treatment.
Because they are performed on a patient by a physical therapist, these techniques and tools are commonly referred to as passive therapy:
- Hydrotherapy
- Dry needling
- Iontophoresis
- Ultrasound
- Heat/ice packs
- Electrical stimulation, such as TENS Units
- Massage
- Manual therapies
Some of these techniques (such as hot/cold packs and massage therapy) are used to increase blood flow and circulation to the affected area, reducing pain and inflammation.
Electrical stimulation therapy is also commonly used by physical therapists. This is a painless, non-invasive treatment that sends electrical waves through your nervous system to reduce muscle spasms and stimulate your body’s production of pain-relieving hormones.
Hydrotherapy treatment is also part of physical therapy. This type of treatment entails performing low-intensity movements in water to relieve muscle pressure. Water enables you to move your joints without pain.
What else should I expect?
Physical therapy is a type of treatment used to treat disabilities and injuries. Your physical therapist can treat all types of pain, including back pain. Physical therapy speeds up recovery and is an excellent therapeutic option for regaining range of motion and functional mobility. Our physical therapists are trained and experienced in conservative treatment strategies, such as rehabilitating patients suffering from neurological, cardiovascular, and orthopedic conditions.
Even though each patient receives a personalized treatment plan unique to their condition, most physical therapy programs include two key components: passive physical therapy and active physical therapy. Passive physical therapy reduces the patient’s pain and makes it more manageable. Active physical therapy requires patients to perform exercises on their own.
Contact our clinic to get started on your recovery!
If you’re ready to reduce (or even eliminate!) your pain, please contact Balance in Motion Clinic to learn more about how physical therapy can help you live a pain-free life.