August 20th, 2021
Did You Know Physical Therapy Could Help Provide Chronic Back Pain Relief?
Do you periodically find yourself disabled by bouts of chronic back pain? Do
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you experience ongoing back pain that never gives you a moment's relief?
Whatever form it may take, chronic back pain can put all kinds of limits on your life -- until you finally start taking the necessary steps to address it head-on.
But you don't have to schedule major surgery or allow yourself to become addicted to prescription painkillers just to keep this lurking monster at bay.
Conservative strategies such as physical therapy and smart lifestyle practices can help you manage your chronic pain for life. Ask our physical therapist to evaluate your conditions and recommend specific treatments!
What exactly is chronic back pain?
If you've ever injured your back in a car crash, high-impact sports injury, or work-related accident, you know just how bad back pain can get.
As horrendously painful as that acute back pain may be, however, at least it goes away at some point. Chronic back pain hangs on long after an acute injury or other ailments should have resolved through healing.
Chronic back pain is pain that persists for three months and longer. This type of pain can be due to a variety of reasons, including arthritis of the spine, aging, disc problems, and myofascial pain syndrome.
Technically, back pain is categorized as chronic if it continues for at least 3 months -and in many cases, chronic back pain can haunt sufferers for years. This is especially true if your back pain stems from an irreversible or progressive condition.
About 20 percent of people who have back pain will have it develop into chronic back pain with persistent symptoms. Chronic back pain ranks number three on the scale for the most burdensome conditions for Americans.
What caused my back pain to develop?
The first step in addressing your chronic back pain is having some understanding of its cause.
Back pain can be caused by many underlying issues, from an acute injury that failed to heal correctly to chronic health problems such as:
- Degenerative disc disease, a condition in which the spinal discs bulge and flatten
- Arthritis in the facet joints that mobilize your spinal column
- Chronic muscle or connective strain due to stress, overuse, or repetitive motion
- Muscle knots associated with fibromyalgia, myofascial pain syndrome, and other chronic problems
- Physical or postural imbalances that lead to chronic muscle strain and soreness
- Congenital deformities such as scoliosis
- Excess weight from obesity or pregnancy
- Herniated discs that compress spinal nerve tissue
Chronic back pain doesn't always limit itself to your back.
Conditions that involve pinched nerve roots may send pain and other odd sensations into your upper or lower extremities.
What can physical therapy do for back pain?
The American Physical Therapy Association states that back pain is the most commonly experienced form of pain for Americans. In fact, one in every four Americans has sustained some sort of back pain in the past three months.
Don't fall into the trap of feeling helpless against your chronic back pain. Our physical therapist can analyze your current condition to determine the exact cause of your symptoms.
We can then prescribe, not just physical therapy exercises, but an entire way of living that helps you maintain optimal day-to-day comfort. Here are some tips you can incorporate into your new pain-management routine:
- Sleep differently - Switch to a different type of mattress or adjust your sleep position to minimize nighttime (and next-day) pain.
- Exercise - Regular physical therapy exercises to strengthen your core muscles (including the muscles of the abdomen, pelvis, and lower back) can stabilize your spine and ease muscle pain.
- Change your ergonomics - Move things around in your workplace so that you can reach frequently-needed items with a minimum of stooping, bending, or twisting.
- Pursue stress reduction - Yoga, meditation, and other stress-busting techniques can help you keep your back muscles relaxed.
- Improve your nutrition - Emphasize anti-inflammatory foods, "nature's medicine" for chronic pain. Our physical therapist can also prescribe exercises to help you lose weight, thus taking pressure off of your spine.
The exercises your physical therapist prescribes to you will help retrain the deep muscles of your back. Your physical therapist will show you how to use the right spinal and abdominal muscles before beginning any exercises to stabilize the spine.
Manipulation is another technique to alleviate chronic back pain. Short and rapid thrusting movements are done over a joint to reduce pain and increase mobility.
Ready to find relief?
Ready to learn more about how to fight chronic back pain? Contact our physical therapist today!
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