Low back pain is one of the most common medical conditions with roughly 80% of adults experiencing some form of low back pain in their lifetime with a high chance of recurrence. Thankfully, for a vast majority of those individuals, the pain self resolves. But for many that pain can persist and really start to negatively impact their daily lives.
When patients come to us with low back pain, we typically first recommend that, for a couple weeks, they continue on as normal except with a conscious effort to stay active, moving throughout the day and maybe adding some simple stretching to their routine. Sometimes that’s all it takes for low back pain to self resolve. But should the pain become too intrusive or uncomfortable, that’s when we would want to perform a physical examination.
At Elite PT, we take great pride in our thorough physical examinations. With patients suffering from low back pain, we might discuss the movements/activities they are struggling with, history of back issues, medical/surgical history, job duties, and sports history among other things, as any or all of these have potential to cause and/or perpetuate low back pain. Beyond that, we do a full neurological screen to make sure nerves are intact and check the skin around the area to make sure we’re not dealing with something that may need to be referred to a specialist. We then test different movements and positions to assess how the patient’s back moves and what structures—when stressed—tend to give us a response.
We rarely see non-specific low back pain at our clinic—although a lot of people will generalize simply because it can be hard to pinpoint one pain generating source for a lot of people with a very similar back pain experience—and that has a lot to do with the thoroughness of our exams.
Once we determine what type of treatment the patient may benefit from, we work with them to tailor an individualized plan that will meet their needs and fit their lifestyle. We know not everybody is able to go to physical therapy multiple times a week—or even exercise multiple times a week for that matter—so we work with our patients to create a realistic treatment plan and do our best to provide assistance as much as we can so that their pain can improve as fast as possible.
Are you suffering from low back pain? Call today to set up an appointment.