For all of my Physical Therapy patients that I’m treating for their back problems, this question comes up 100% of the time. “How should I take care of my back?” For such a general question, which could possibly have a million different answers, I actually find myself coming back to the same solutions time and time again.
With Jennifer, although she did experience an unfortunate bout of back pain which then moved into her shoulder and neck due to overcompensation, I am happy to report that with Physical Therapy, we were able to help her rid her life of back pain symptoms completely!
Is back pain causing you to move a little slower and more cautiously?
If left untreated, chronic back pain can lead to long-term spinal joint and possibly nerve damage. Back pain is one of the most common physical complaints that people suffer from and more than 80% of the US population will experience back pain at some point in their lifetime. Back pain can interfere with your ability to bend, kneel, lift, reach, do work and enjoy time with your family. Not to mention, it can make you down right irritable and affect others around you.
When I first met Gloria, she was in a great deal of pain. A fall had left her unable to walk confidently and was impacting how much she slept at night. On a referral from a friend of hers, who was also a patient of mine at the time, she made the right choice and called to schedule an appointment with me for Physical Therapy.
As the summer ended, we all, as parents, went through our yearly ritual of getting our kids reading for the upcoming school year. As I picked them up after the first day of school, I found myself staring at all these kids, many of which already had loads of books, with bad back pack form. I just shook my head, as I just knew that back pain was just around the corner. Despite their potential problems, backpacks are great when used properly. Before you buy one, though, consider a backpack’s construction.
Dealing with dizziness and vertigo symptoms can definitely be challenging. When undergoing Physical Therapy for these symptoms, the path to better living can be filled with ups and downs. And, as I tell all my dizziness and vertigo patients, you have to keep up the work even after you’re discharged, as they can come back when you least expect it! But even if the symptoms return, you can always get right back into Physical Therapy to quickly rid your life of pesky dizziness and vertigo problems.
You’re injuring yourself at work — daily. But I have an office job, you think; my workplace is altogether too safe. Actually, that’s the problem. Sitting at a desk all day, and the repetitive motions that accompany that sitting, cause microtrauma in our bodies. New studies are beginning to reveal that extended periods of sitting and sedentary behavior have a significant
negative effect on our well-being — and an even greater impact on our overall health than our diets.
When Physical Therapy patients come into our clinic, one of our main goals is to help patients get back that feeling of independence. With each Physical Therapy visit, every patient starts to take little steps toward feeling like they’re getting back to normal, getting back to their every day routine. And who doesn’t like a little bit of normal?
So you’ve gotten through part 2 of my top home exercises for back pain due to sciatica without pain. Great! Looks like you’re progressing quite well with my 3 Phases of Healing. I think it’s time to take these Physical Therapy exercises to the next step and get up onto our feet, shall we?
Living with pain is not fun at all. It’s exactly the reason why the first phase of Dr. Asha’s 3 Phases of Healing in Physical Therapy is to get rid of any pain, numbness, and tingling symptoms that you are experiencing.
