Physical Therapy Services
Back Pain
Care for the leading cause of disability worldwide.
Back Pain
Since back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, it is vital to know how to prevent the cause of back pain. By maintaining a healthy diet and weight, remaining active and avoiding prolonged inactivity or bed rest are all important ways to avoid back pain. Before doing exercises or any physical activity, it is recommended to warm up and/or stretch.
How This Works
What back pain treatment involves
Treatment for back pain starts by working out which structures are actually producing the symptoms and what is loading them. That means a history — how it started, what makes it worse, what you have to do each day — followed by an examination of spinal movement, strength, and how you sit, bend and lift.
From there, hands-on treatment is used to restore movement and settle irritable tissue, and a specific exercise programme is used to change the loading. Because staying active and avoiding prolonged inactivity or bed rest are important in back pain, the programme is built around getting you moving normally rather than resting the area indefinitely.
What to Expect
Your visits, step by step
Working out where it is coming from
Your therapist establishes a cause and effect relationship through accurate palpation and assessment of the body, rather than treating the sore spot on its own. Bring any imaging or reports you have.
Hands-on treatment
Depending on the findings this can include soft tissue work, joint mobilisation and, where it is appropriate and screening allows, spinal manipulation. What is used is chosen for your presentation.
An exercise programme
You are given specific movements to do at home, plus guidance on warming up and stretching before physical activity, and on staying active rather than resting for long periods.
Progression and prevention
Later visits address the habits that keep loading the area — lifting mechanics, work setup, and how you build activity back up.
Benefits
What back pain treatment is used for
- Used to address back pain, stiffness and the movement restriction that comes with it.
- Used to address the mechanics behind recurring episodes, rather than only the current one.
- Offers a conservative, drug-free approach; published guidance recommends that low back pain sufferers consider the most conservative care first.
- Includes practical guidance on staying active, lifting, and warming up or stretching before physical activity.
Results of an injury vary from person to person. What is appropriate for you is decided at your evaluation — call (718) 714-6995 and we can talk it through.
Common Questions
Back Pain FAQs
Should I rest my back or keep moving?
Remaining active and avoiding prolonged inactivity or bed rest are recognised as important in managing back pain. What that looks like for you specifically — which activities to keep, which to modify — is what your therapist will work out at your evaluation.
Do I need an MRI or X-ray before I come in?
Not necessarily. Bring any imaging you already have, and your therapist will tell you at the evaluation whether further testing would change the plan. In some cases diagnostic imaging is useful; often the examination is what directs treatment.
Will treatment hurt?
Working into a stiff or irritable back can be uncomfortable, but it is guided and adjusted throughout. Tell your therapist what you are feeling as you go rather than pushing through in silence.
What should I wear to my appointment?
Something you can move in that allows access to your back — a vest or loose t-shirt, and comfortable trousers or shorts you can bend and squat in.
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