How Physiotherapy Can Help With Lower Back Pain
Follow these three steps to recover from low back pain.
Having an episode of lower back pain? You're not alone: about 85 percent of people experience this at least once in their lifetime.
Perhaps the worst part of having lower back pain is not knowing when it will get better, or what to do about it. It seems that everyone has had an experience with low back pain and is more than willing to offer you helpful advice. But it’s important to remember that back pain can show up with several different signs and symptoms. What works for one person may or may not be right for you.
Here’s some reassuring news: most types of acute low back pain can be effectively resolved with just a few treatments of targeted physiotherapy. Chronic, or persistent low back pain takes a bit longer, but either way, physiotherapy is a great way to restore the health of your back.
What to expect at your first physiotherapy session
If you’ve never previously visited a physiotherapist, here’s what you can expect at your first appointment. At Tall Tree Health for example, we take detailed notes on your history and conduct a physical assessment that helps us determine what treatments will be most effective in reducing your low back pain. The assessment also enables us to set specific goals so we can tailor treatment towards what matters most to you, whether that's returning to full contact sports or playing with your grandchildren.
From there, you can expect that physiotherapy treatment will take you through three stages of rehabilitation so that you can fully recover.
“A good physiotherapy treatment program can help you recover from lower back pain and give you self-management tools to use if it reoccurs.”
Get your low back pain under control
In the first stage, when your pain is acute, physiotherapy treatment focuses on decreasing your low back pain to a manageable level. We typically accomplish this by using manual therapy (hands-on treatment) to help improve your mobility and reduce muscle spasms. Often, we’ll also prescribe a specific low back exercise or position which will go a long way to help you independently relieve your pain at home. Finally, we’ll recommend which activities you should avoid temporarily and discuss how you can safely keep moving your body.
2. Restore your range of motion
Once your lower back pain is under control, you can move into the second stage of rehabilitation: recovering your ability to move freely. In this stage, we again use manual therapy to stretch out tight muscles and joints, and help improve your mobility. We’ll also recommend low back exercises for you to stretch and restore full motion throughout your back. These are designed to reinforce the effects of the manual physiotherapy and help you manage or eliminate stiffness.
3. Exercise to strengthen and stabilize your lower back
In the third and final stage of your lower back rehabilitation, we focus on recovering your strength, stability, and movement. Although you may not have much pain at this point, your recovery is not quite complete. For many people, low back pain is episodic – which means it returns from time to time. There’s good research to suggest that strength and stability exercises for the low back greatly help decrease the frequency and severity of these painful episodes.
Typically, we’ll begin this stage of recovery with what’s commonly known as “core stabilization exercises.” These are functional physiotherapy exercises based on activities you plan on returning to, and they’re intended to help you build strength and confidence so that you can get back to enjoying a full and active lifestyle.
A good physiotherapy treatment program can help you recover from lower back pain and give you self-management tools to use if it reoccurs. And if you can’t get your pain to settle down on your own, we’re always here to help. At Tall Tree Health, our Registered Physiotherapists are leaders, educators, and innovators in their field, and you can expect the highest standard of care.
Vanessa Service, Physiotherapist
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