Physical Therapy for Back Pain Relief
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should see a physical therapist. Appropriate physical therapy treatment not only helps to decrease your pain, but it can also help keep it from returning1, which makes it easier to live your life pain free.
The Benefits of Physical Therapy
It's proven effective:
- Response to treatment will vary, but for some, significant pain relief can be achieved in just a couple of physical therapy visits.1
It's safe:
- Physical therapy can be just as effective as surgical intervention for treating back pain, without the risks or side effects.2
It saves you time:
- Waiting time for appointments is typically short and, in most cases, you can be seen within 48 hours of contacting your therapist.3
It saves you money:
- An active physical therapy program could mean better treatment results, cutting costs in prescription medications, MRIs, and lower back injections.4
It's a personalized solution, not just a quick fix:
- Your physical therapist will address the underlying causes of your pain, such as your strength, endurance, mobility, daily activities, and recreational habits. This individualized approach provides long-term relief and prevents future episodes of pain.5
More about Lower Back Pain
Visit our Medical Library for:
- Info on lower pain
- Illustrations
- Possible treatments
- Additional web resources links.
Call us today and start feeling better tomorrow!
302-444-8318
If you'd like more information, download the physician referral form below, and ask your doctor if physical therapy is right for you.
Click Here to Download Physician Referral FormReferences:
- Childs JD, Fritz JM, Flynn T, et al. A clinical prediction rule to identify patients with low back pain most likely to benefit from spinal manipulation: a validation study. Ann Intern Med. 2004;141(12):920-928.
- Fairbank J, Frost H, Wilson-Macdonald J, et al; for the Spine Stabilisation Group. Randomised controlled trial to compare surgical stabilisation of the lumbar spine with an intensive rehabilitation programme for patients with chronic low back pain: the MRC spine stabilisation trial. BMJ. 2008;330(7502):1233. Epub 2005 May 23.
- CPTA Patient Survey, 2007.
- Fritz JM, Cleland JA, Speckman M, Brennan GP, Hunter SJ. Physical therapy for acute low back pain: associations with subsequent healthcare costs. Spine. 2008;33(16):1800-1805.
- Delitto A, Erhard RE, Bowling RW. A treatment-based classification approach to low back pain syndrome: identifying and staging patients for conservative treatment. Phys Ther. 1995;75(6):470-485.
NOTE: Physical therapy may not be for everyone, such as those who have a history of cancer, or severe systemic or neurological conditions; those who have experienced recent/significant unexplained weight loss, have structural deformities, have experienced a recent trauma resulting in fractures, or those who have used steroids.
Disclaimer: The information in this website is intended for informational and educational purposes only and in no way should be taken to be the provision or practice of physical therapy, medical, or professional healthcare advice or services. The information should not be considered complete or exhaustive and should not be used for diagnostic or treatment purposes without first consulting with your physical therapist, occupational therapist, physician or other healthcare provider. The owners of this website accept no responsibility for the misuse of information contained within this website.
In addition to learning more in our library, here is a webinar we did for the public on learning your personalized low back pain profile and the most common causes of pain in the low back area.
LOW BACK PAIN WORKSHEET
Kathryn Cieniewicz PT MSPT CAPS CEAC
Aging in Place Specialists (AIPS)
Home-based Outpatient Physical Therapy
P: 302-444-8318
F: 302-444-8309
www.aginginplacede.com
Instructions: Please print this out before the webinar. You will use this worksheet to learn important information about your back pain and determine your personal profile. Please fill out the blanks as you listen to the webinar. Answers will be shown in the webinar presentation in case you miss it when it is discussed.
Section 1: What is special about low back pain?
54% of the people with spine pain (neck or back) have had these issues for at least ______ years. (Statista)
B) _______ people that experience acute low back pain will end up with ____________ pain. (NIH)
C) For every ________ people, the cause of their back pain is not clearly _________________. This is also a reason that many back surgeries fail. (American Family Physician)
D) Lower back pain is the leading cause of _________________ world-wide. (BMJ Journal)
E) We are here to ___________ what so many people ___________ with daily.
Section 2: What are the top causes of back pain issues?
A) _________________________________________________________
B) _________________________________________________________
C) _________________________________________________________
D) _________________________________________________________
E) _________________________________________________________
Section 3: What is the bad news?
Most people _____________________ the pain, therefore making it worse and even prolonging healing. It also increases the probability that more conditions will arise contributing to your pain.
B) People also make the mistake of ____________________ the pain, of which the best example is taking _______________________ while not doing anything else to help the pain.
C) Listening to your ________________, ________________, and ________________, that are not _________________ _________________, can result in doing the exact opposite of what you should be doing to help your back pain because each diagnosis is treated differently and doing the wrong thing can make your pain worse.
D) If you have tried physical therapy in the past, you should know that not all physical therapists are _________________ ____________________.
Section 4: What is the good news?
Most back pain is ___________________, which means it is __________________ with movement, which also means is it ___________________ . This is great news!!
B) While surgery is an option for certain conditions, it is a ______________ resort. In fact, you should know that approximately only _________ % of surgeries for back pain are successful. (NIH) Therefore, conservative options should be pursued more often than not.
C) _____________ _______________ should be discussed with your physician, including sudden loss of muscle function, sudden change in bowel and bladder control, paresthesia in the area that would come in contact with a saddle, prolonged cough and unrelenting pain that never changes with movement.
OKAY>>>>TIME TO MOVE!
I had pain or discomfort when I bent: (circle all that apply)
- FORWARD - SIDE BENDING TO THE LEFT
- BACKWARD - SIDE BENDING TO THE RIGHT
PROFILE REVIEW 1-5:: I believe I could be Profile # _________. (Choose 1-5)
Section 5: Let's talk solutions.
____________ _____________ conditions that may be causing your pain, then narrow it down to the loudest in the room (the one that is predominately causing the most trouble for you).
B) ____________ _________ therapy and stabilizing or moving the pelvis and spine.
C) ____________________ ___________________ program to address your core issue, including__________________ ______________________.
D) _______________ and _______________ changes to keep your pain down and enable you to perform the activities you need and want to do on a daily basis long term.
Bonus!!!
Do THIS exercise starting today to jump start your healing. It may not seem like much but it is one of the most important muscles to activate and strengthen for diminished back pain.
What are we NOT going to do?
2.
3.
4.
Phases of Healing:
2.
3.
Next Step:
Sign up for an initial examination with one of our expert Physical Therapists. You will get an email with a free gift at the completion of the webinar as well as a link to sign up for care. The other way to sign up for care is to simply call us at 302-444-8318 or email us at hello@aginginplacede.com.
Important*** What you should know about us at AIPS:
We are a home-based outpatient PT private practice. This means we do outpatient physical therapy, but in the privacy, comfort, and safety of your own home. Because it is under Med B (outpatient), you do NOT need to be homebound in order to qualify for our services.
You will have the same specialist every treatment session (unless your therapist is ill or on vacation) for better continuity of care. You will never see a tech for your care, only board certified, licensed, and experienced therapists.
You will never have to compete for the attention of your therapist. In the home setting, they can concentrate on one person at a time, enhancing outcomes and reducing potential injury.
We accept Medicare and most Medicare Advantage Plans (MAPs). Medicare pays 80% of the cost. If you have a supplement (or secondary) insurance, it will pay for the remaining 20%, which means little to no cost out of pocket for you. MAPs usually have an out of pocket cost, like a co-pay or deductible. We will always call your particular plan to advise you on your expense before initiating the exam.
You do NOT need a prescription to get started with physical therapy. Delaware is a direct access state so, by law, we can treat you for up to 30 days without a physician referral. However, we believe best practice is contacting your physician day 1. Therefore, we will fax your doctor your initial examination for them to review our findings and plan of care. They sign it and fax it back to us and this acts as a script. We also inform your doctor of your progress every 30 days and at discharge.
Don't wait. We generally have a waiting list of patients. While we are very good about getting patients scheduled within a week, getting signed up swiftly is always the best way to ensure your place on our PT's schedule.
