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| Physical Therapy is commonly the quickest, longest lasting, and most cost effective treatment for low back pain. Understanding you treatment options could get you back to loving life sooner. |
Why Does my Back Hurt?
why your back is hurting you also kind of why why do I have pain
Whenever you experience any sort of pain, it is really your body telling you something is not quite right.
All the pain you experience is due to your nervous system and your nerves. Your nervous system and your nerves signal your brain to say something is wrong or potentially dangerous.
It is your brain that creates the sensation of pain; signalling your body, telling you to do something about whatever's going wrong
- Constipation
- something going wrong with your organs
- Pinched Nerve
- Spasming Muscle
- Muscle or Joint Restriction
- Radiating Pain From your Limbs
therefore you're having a little bit of pain but that doesn't mean it's necessarily in your back. Your low back pain could be or in the spot that's hurting it could
If you have back pain, physical therapists are well-versed in figuring out what is causing the pain and if it's not due to your musculoskeletal system, we will send you back to your physician if you have some red flags
that's why we now have doctorates in physical therapy so that we know when to send you back to your doctor so a PT is perfectly capable of determining what's going on with you and needing to know when to send you back to your doctor
What Types of Back Pain
Wwhat types of back pain occur so kind of a huge topic so many people have low back pain so I can be
- it can be acute pain or just happened
- that can be chronic pain pain that has been there for a really long time
- musculoskeletal pain (AKA Mechanical Pain) so paying up just happening cuz your muscles have spasmed
- It can be you have a pinched nerve in your spine of causing your back pain
- Cancer
- Constipation
- Organ Pain
all pain really happens because your nervous system is telling me that something is going wrong on this silly that there is pain don't really have pain signals we have something that saying hey I don't like what's going on here or do something about it and its telling your brain something's wrong your brain is was telling you that there's pain and that is always going to be your nerves are doing that
Everyone always asks “Is it my nerves?” when they come to me for low back pain.
there was like I was at my nerves well it's your nervous system for sure always
that's how how we experience pain but as far as types
that's because something's not functioning properly in your system but mostly back in there are pains that we want to make sure that are not due to cancer or something constipation can cause pain on your organs can cause back pain so if you do see a physical therapist will you have to be very honest we have red flags that we look for it if we think you're back pain is not being caused by a musculoskeletal system and we think it's happening because of one of your organs
What Does My Low Back Pain Mean?
Your low back pain is going to be different from everyone else’s back pain, and each person has a slightly different cause based on their anatomy, their activity level, and their understanding of their pain.
What your low back pain means in general, though is that something is going on in your body. Pain is a warning signal that should alert your brain that you are doing something which may leave you with an injury or damage to your muscles or bones. The challenge with low back pain is that the root of the problem is probably somewhere near your back but it could be in your stomach, it could be in your pelvis, or it could be due to the way you are walking or running, among many possibilities.
However, something is not quite right and your body is telling you to make a change to prevent further injury or tissue damage. When it comes to chronic pain, you may be dealing with distortions in your nervous system. If you
- Have chronic pain (that is pain that has lasted for more than 3 to 6 months) and
- Have had all imaging (likes x-rays, CT scan, and MRI) and
- Have not had a cause identified and
- Have not been able to get rid of your low back pain,
Your body may have gotten so used to being in pain that your nervous system doesn't know how to turn off those pain signals from your brain.
Everybody's going to be a tad bit different, but generally, your body is telling you to make a change. One great change to make is to consult with a physical therapist. You have direct access to physical therapists in most of the United States now. This is why physical therapists now get their doctorates. We can tell you when it is musculoskeletal versus when we might suspect something else.
Treatment for Low Back Pain
When it comes to physical therapy treatment for low back pain, we are going to try everything we can to get you moving. A physical therapist is a partner in your care. We want your feedback, we need your feedback so that we can get the most out of our time with you. Only you know what feels best to you, and we need to find whatever we can to help you get out of pain.
Assessment of Low Back Pain
Assessment and the history of your pain is going to be the first part of any treatment for an orthopedic injury or dysfunction. We want to know how long your pain has been going on for and if there was something specific you did when you first noticed the pain (e.g., a car accident, a work injury, lifting your child). Part of the assessment with also be checking your range of motion, and palpating or touching you to identify areas that are of particular concern.
When we address low back pain, it would be negligent not to consider surrounding structures like your hips, abdomen, and pelvic floor. These structures are both directly and indirectly related to the muscles and joints of your low back, if there is an issue in one of these, we need to know so that we can address the root of your back pain. (Did you know that up to 95% of women with low back pain have underlying pelvic floor dysfunction?) We need to examine and strengthen your abdomen, your legs, and your back to be able to get you back to moving and functioning to the best of your ability.
Relief of Low Back Pain
We know that when you are in pain, you do not care about the assessment, you want treatment for your low back pain and you want relief. We break down treatment for low back pain into 4 areas
1. Modalities.
Ice, Heat, Ultrasound. These are all modalities that help us loosen your muscles and joints without having to put too much stress or strain on these structures. We may use ice or heat, for example, depending on how new (acute) or old (chronic) your pain is and what you can tolerate. This is meant to encourage blood flow and movement of your joints.
2. Manual Therapy.
Once your muscles are less taut and any swelling or inflammation has subsided, we want to engage in some manual therapy. Getting our hands on you is essential for loosening your muscles, and getting your spine moving better. Manual therapy helps you move optimally, so that you can function, you can move, and you can't get out of pain.
3. Exercise.
Studies continue to show that aerobic activity is the best thing to get people out of low back pain. While you are getting treatment for your low back pain in the physical therapy clinic, we will do some aerobic activity. That might be having you walk on a treadmill, that may be having your ride the bike, and it might be weight-supported exercise like gait training or a gravity defying treadmill to take pressure off your joints.
As part of exercising, stretching will likely play a big role in your getting some relief back pain. (Common Stretches for Back Pain)
4. Education.
Part of reducing your pain is understanding your pain. In order to do that, part of your physical therapy treatment will be related to your learning about the pain cycle.
To stop your back pain, we have got to get you moving; so, this will be our biggest goal for your physical therapy treatment. We want you to move, we want you pain free, we want you to Love Your Life! However, we work closely with our physician colleagues to make sure there is nothing else going on. One opportunity for us to refer you back to your physician is with Neurostimulation.
Neurostimulators are electrical units implanted in people's backs that can be very helpful in reducing or modulating the pain signals. Obviously your physical therapist is not going to implant that, your surgeon would have to do that but it is just one more way out there for you to get out of pain.
Will Low Back Pain ever Go Away?
Your back pain should absolutely go away. A physical therapist should be able to figure out what is going on with you; your physician should be able to figure out what's going on with you.
There are a lot of things that can help back pain, but studies routinely show that aerobic activity is the biggest factor in getting chronic low back pain to go away. That doesn't mean you have to go run a marathon, that means you need to get out and just walk for 20-30 minutes a day. Swim, bike, dance, do something that feels good. We know that you may not be able to do it that much right away but you have to go out and get active.
As Physical therapists, we love this because we are the experts in moving and getting you moving. And physical therapists are perfect for educating you on proper movement and designing activities to get you moving with as little pain as possible.
Understanding Low Back Pain with Pain Neuroscience Education
When you have chronic low back pain, your body may not know how to turn off the pain signal.
We don't really have pain signals; we have warning signals that tell our brain that we are doing something that may be dangerous or that may lead to injury. So, we have to reorganize our understanding of what pain is and learn that it's really your brain trying to get you to make a change or to get you to stop doing something potentially dangerous.
We find that Pain Neuroscience Education, or Therapeutic Neuroscience Education, is a great way to educate our patients on what the warning signals to your brain are. We want to educate you on pain to help you get out of pain. So that your pain will go away.
Frequently Asked Questions about Low Back Pain
Will Ice Help my Low Back Pain? (Learn More)
Ice is generally best for things that are new or acute. So, if you are having new-onset low back pain, you may want to consider using some ice. Things that are due to inflammation, ice is going to help that inflammatory process a little bit.
A word of caution: ice can be really helpful, but do not leave it on longer than 20 minutes. Inflammation is an important part of the recovery and healing process your body is going through.
Will Heat Help my Low Back Pain? (Learn More)
Heat will be most helpful with back pain if you have really tight muscles. Muscles that are taut when touched, or muscle that feel like your back is going to spasm.
A word of caution: heat can be helpful to not burn yourself don't leave it on for longer than about 20 minutes. Burning your skin is never a good thing.
Why does my low back hurt while lying down? (Learn More)
- Musculoskeletal Pain
- Pinched Nerve
- Visceral Pain
Why does my back hurt standing up?(Learn More)
Your low back can hurt for a variety of reasons. most of them stem from remaining in one place for a long. Of time but here are six common reasons for low back pain while standing
- Posture
- Concrete floors Or other hard floors
- Standing still Or lack of movement
- Other tight muscles pulling on your back Your muscles could be too short and too tight sending pain signals to the brain
- Pinched nerve in your back This can send pain down your legs Need to strengthen your core and low back muscles so that they're not being strained
- Poor Footwear
-FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers of Oklahoma City
FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers of Oklahoma City provides orthopedic physical therapy in Lakeside, The Village, Nichols Hills and surrounding NW Oklahoma City. Our physical therapists are specially trained to treat all types of pain, movement disorders, and musculoskeletal dysfunction including incontinence after radical prostatectomy in men. Our practitioners take a patient-centered individualized approach that focuses on your pelvic health needs. If you are unsure about your pelvic health, or you want to see the FYZICAL Difference for yourself, schedule a free consultation today.