It is no surprise that low back pain is the most common cause of disability in working people. Almost all of us would have experienced back pain at some point in our lives. If your back pain lasts for more than three months, then it is termed chronic back pain. It can be experienced as muscle pain, nerve pain, or bone pain. Chronic back pain limits our movement and ability to perform everyday activities.
To relieve your chronic back pain and live a pain-free life, you need to visit a physical therapy clinic. Even though physical therapists walk you through some simple therapies like heat or cold therapy and electrotherapy that act as pain remedies, they assist you in improving your mobility and back strength through therapeutic exercises and other treatments.
Different Causes Of Back Pain
Back pain can be caused due to several conditions and may result from stress, disease, or injury. We can discuss the most common causes here.
1) Disc Injury
Disc injury occurs when there is a problem with the disc in the back. Our Bodies undergo several changes as we age. One such change is the structure of the spine, especially intervertebral discs. Herniated disc is the common condition that causes injury in the disc. It occurs when the cartilage surrounding the disc compresses the spinal nerve.
It occurs as a result of lifting something suddenly or twisting the back. It causes tingling pain and numbness in the back. It also leads to bad posture and muscle weakness, causing balance problems.
2) Spinal Stenosis
Spinal stenosis is a condition that occurs when the spaces within the spine narrow, putting pressure on the nerves that travel through the spinal cord. It is often caused due to age-related degeneration of the disc. It leads to pain, numbness, and muscle weakness. One may experience the symptoms in the lower back, neck, shoulder, arms, or legs.
3) Sciatica
Sciatica occurs when conditions like a bone spur or herniated disc in the spine press the sciatic nerve, the longest nerve in the body, extending from the lower back down the back of the legs. It causes irritation of the spinal nerve leading to numbness and burning pain and in the lower back that radiates to the hip, buttocks, and leg.
4) Abnormal Spine Curvatures
Lordosis, scoliosis, and kyphosis are the conditions that lead to abnormal curvatures in the spine. The abnormal curvature disrupts the overall health of the spine and puts pressure on the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and vertebrae. The condition causes back pain and poor posture.
5) Other conditions that cause back pain include arthritis, spondylitis, spondylosis, and fibromyalgia. Pregnancy also leads to back pain.
Physical Therapy For Chronic Back Pain
Physical therapy should be your primary preference if you are a victim of chronic back pain, as it can give you excellent results along with multiple health benefits. Physical therapists are experts in locating the root cause of your back pain and provide you with a more specialized treatment plan. A typical treatment plan for chronic back pain patients includes the following methods.
1) Stretching and Strengthening Exercises
Weakened back muscles need to be stretched and strengthened to reduce the symptoms of low back pain. Stretching the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that support the spine relieves tension, stiffness, improves range of motion and overall mobility. It can improve hip flexibility and core stability.
Physical therapists may recommend exercises by evaluating your movement and back strength. These exercises include knee-to-chest stretch, seat forward bend, flexion rotation, kneeling lunge stretch, and piriformis muscle stretch.
Exercises increase the flow of blood to the lower back area and speed up the healing mechanism. Strengthening the core muscles is the key to reduce back pain. Some of the strengthening exercises include bridging, lifting weights, and pelvic tilts. Patients can also do some low-impact exercise walking, stationary bicycling, swimming, and water aerobics. Aerobic activities like These exercises also help to prevent the recurrence of back pain.
2) Manual Therapy
Muscle spasm, muscle tension, and joint dysfunction can usually lead to back pain. Hence, some physical therapists prefer manual therapy to improve mobility of joints, promote pain relief and relaxation in patients. It is a hands-on technique where the physical therapists use their hands to apply pressure on muscle tissues and manipulate joints.
Soft tissue mobilization is one of the manual therapy methods which mobilizes the muscles and breaks up the scar tissues. This method also removes waste from the damaged tissues and helps reduce muscle tension and improve flexibility.
Another method is trigger point therapy, in which the therapist applies pressure to the areas of muscle tension in the back. It reduces tension, corrects muscle imbalances, and decreases back pain.
3) Massage Therapy
Massage therapy is one of the methods used in physical therapy clinics and is performed by trained massage therapists. To carry out this therapy, the practitioner uses his hands and fingers to manipulate the soft tissues of the body that include muscle, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments, and skin.
Massage therapy improves blood circulation, reduces pain and muscle tension. It promotes relaxation in the muscles and helps in an improved range of motion. It also leads to an increase in the endorphin levels that helps to manage chronic pain.
Final Thoughts
If you suffer from chronic back pain and use medication for temporary relief, try physical therapy for an improved quality of life. Physical therapy helps in lessening your back pain and restoring mobility. It eliminates the need for surgery and reduces the risk of recurrence of chronic back pain.
