Back pain is one of the most common reasons people seek medical help or miss work. Back pain is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Fortunately, measures can help prevent or relieve most back pain episodes, especially for people younger than age 60. Simple treatment and using the body correctly often will heal the back within a few weeks.
Back pain can range from a muscle aching to a shooting, burning or stabbing sensation.
When to see a doctor?
Lasts longer than a few weeks.
Is severe and doesn't improve with rest.
Spreads down one or both legs, especially if the pain goes below the knee.
Causes weakness, numbness, or tingling in one or both legs.
Is paired with unexplained weight loss.
How Physical Therapists Assess Back Pain?
Physical therapists focus on treating restrictions that keep the body from moving effectively – and preventing those issues in the future.
While PTs do help treat your back pain, they’ll also get to the root of your symptoms so that you can avoid a repeat situation. A PT will be able to pinpoint what you did that caused you to be in pain.
If you’re having a twinge of back pain during activities such as running or weightlifting, a PT can also analyze your postural patterns and show you ways to improve them in order to decrease pain and prevent future injuries.
What Happens During Physical Therapy for Back Pain?
Most physical therapy sessions begin with an initial assessment to test muscle strength, flexibility and range of motion. Your PT will evaluate how you move, talk to you to understand how your pain limits you and identify any deficits you may have that could be contributing to the issue.
They’ll then create a unique, customized treatment plan tailored just for you using various techniques, including :
Strengthening exercises. Back pain can often be blamed on poor posture or poor movement patterns, when certain muscles have to step in and compensate for other muscles that are not being used properly. A PT will show you how to perform exercises to strengthen your spine and the muscles around it.
Manual therapy. A PT can use various strategies, including passive soft tissue mobilizations, joint mobilizations, dry needling or other techniques to help decrease impairments on joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles. (At our practice, we are proud to say that we emphasize this a lot.)
Education and training. A PT can help you retrain your movement patterns or the decisions you make that would put load incorrectly on your back, so you can prevent back pain in the future.
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