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Low back pain: Early physical therapy helps reduce pain quicker!

Lower back pain is the second most common reason people visit their primary care physician. Second to the common cold, low back pain remains the most common cause of disability and lost time from work in industrialized countries. What does that tell us? It’s pretty darn common!! I think we have all been there… simple tasks like getting out of bed, brushing our teeth, or putting pants on seem like insurmountable feats when we have back pain! In a recent study, Fritz and colleagues (2016) demonstrated that patients who received early physical therapy intervention had a better quality of life. Early intervention was also more cost-effective, as compared to no intervention, one year after onset of lower back pain. A follow up study also demonstrated that patients who participated in physical therapy intervention earlier had statistically less disability as compared to patients who did not receive early physical therapy. So why does this matter?? Let’s ask a real patient… Meet Paul… Paul “threw out” his back when getting out of his car early one day. I think we can all relate to this story. He had a difficult time straightening up, he felt he was walking crooked, and he was in a fair amount of pain in his lower back. Paul started physical therapy 5 days later. After some moist heat, carefully tailored and gentle manual therapy, and education regarding his back, he left after his first day of physical therapy feeling less pain and feeling much more mobile. Within only 10 sessions of physical therapy, Paul was back to his old exercise routine and feeling great! Take home point: Having back pain doesn’t mean you need and MRI or surgery. Relief from your back pain is only a phone call away! Call JointCare Physical Therapy and start getting some real help! We are manual therapists who value a holistic healing approach to empower patients to help themselves. Moreover, we have direct access for

physical therapy in the state of NJ, which means you do not need a physician prescription to start physical therapy. If you haven’t had physical therapy and want to learn more, call for a FREE 15 minute consultation to learn how to get on the road to recovery today!

Resources:

1) Fritz JM, Kim M, Magel JS, Asche CV. Cost-Effectiveness of Primary Care Management With or Without Early Physical Therapy for Acute Low Back Pain: Economic Evaluation of a Randomized Clinical Trial. Spine. 2017 Mar;42(5):285-290. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000001729.

2) Fritz JM et al. Early PhysicalTherapy vs Usual Care in Patients With Recent-Onset Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2015 Oct 13;314(14):1459-67. doi: 10.1001/jama.2015.11648.

3) Beattie PF.The Lumbar Spine: PhysicalTherapy Patient Management Utilizing Current Evidence. Current Concepts of Orthopedic Physical Therapy, 3rd Edition. La Crosse WI: 2011: 1-30.

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