Do you feel like you’ve been locked out of your own life because of your chronic back pain? This irritating, terrible condition can be caused by a number of different factors, some of which worsen over time until you are unable to move at all. Despite these severe limitations, you may be hesitant to risk extensive surgery on your back, which is understandable. The good news is that, thanks to physical therapy, you may not need to go to such extremes. Often, a trained physical therapist can pinpoint the source of your pain and devise a customized treatment plan that does not rely on drugs or surgery.
How Back Pain Becomes a Chronic Problem
Back discomfort seems to be a common occurrence among the majority of people. At some point or another, an estimated fourth-fifth of adults suffer from low back discomfort. Many of these difficulties have to do with serious injuries, such as those sustained in car accidents, sports injuries, or occupational injuries caused by lifting improperly. The discomfort is intended to go away as the injuries heal on their own. Back discomfort disappears once the baby is born and the body regains its normal weight and spinal alignment in other situations, such as pregnancy.
Back pain, on the other hand, can turn into chronic misery. When you have spinal arthritis, spondylolisthesis, or stenosis, you won’t be able to heal on your own, and you’ll be in persistent or recurring discomfort. Repetitive motion injuries and soft tissue strain are two other causes of chronic back pain. Your upper or lower back can be in constant pain due to poor workplace or sports ergonomics, weak back muscles that don’t support a normal posture, or musculoskeletal irregularities like fallen arches.
Have you been more concerned about the treatment for your back pain than the pain itself? Many back pain sufferers are justifiably concerned about the possibility of taking a significant amount of medicines, which may temporarily relieve their pain while also causing long-term problems. They may be even more terrified of undergoing a significant spine surgery, such as a vertebral fusion, as this technique may limit your range of motion even more, make your discomfort worse, or perhaps make it worse.
Physical therapy may hold the key to unlocking your answers.
The smartest way to fight chronic back pain is to help your back function more normally — and the smartest way to do that is with physical therapy. Our physical therapist can determine the source of your upper or lower back pain, which could be anything from a degenerative condition to strained muscles or an unbalanced body. You could benefit from a physical therapy program that includes the following components:
- Strengthening exercises to help you maintain a straighter posture and enjoy better spinal support.
- Flexibility exercises to gradually and carefully increase your pain-free range of motion in your back.
- Stabilization exercises to help keep your spinal components in place as you go about your daily activities (from sitting in a chair to getting out of bed)
- Orthotics to compensate for foot or leg imbalances that are causing muscle strain.
- Using a combination of cryotherapy and heat therapy to alleviate tissue pain and inflammation
- Chiropractic adjustments to improve spinal joint function and normalize spinal alignment
- Modifications to one’s lifestyle to avoid undue strain caused by an inconvenient workplace or sports ergonomics
- Cold laser therapy and/or massage therapy to relieve, warm, and relax tense muscles and connective tissues.
Our Physical Therapist Has Got Your Back
Gain control over your chronic back pain by making your back healthier. Contact us to schedule an appointment with one of our physical therapists today!
