N E W S L E T T E R
DETERMINE THE ORIGIN OF YOUR BACK PAIN
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Understanding Back Pain: Being educated aboutyourbackpaincanhelpyoumake the right choices to overcome it as quickly as possible. One of the biggest problems with back pain is that it lingers. This leads many people to deal with back pain for years on end without seemingly any end in sight. While there is back pain that develops as a resultofstrainorsprain, there isalsosomething called lowbackdegenerativediscdisease,which happens when the discs in your spine weaken. This frequentlydevelopsasa resultof repetitive back injury and can also develop as a result of age. With degenerative disc disease, the space between the discs begins to collapse and become unstable and will cause back pain to develop. When you work with a physical therapist to overcome back pain as a result of degenerative disc disease, your physical therapist will begin by strengthening core muscle groups, which includes the abdominal wall,andwillprovideyouwith targetedmassage and stretching techniques to alleviate pain. While some back pain is easy to identify as pain, such as is the case with degenerative discdisease, thereareothersituations inwhich the pain may be a bit more complicated to understand. One of the most common back issues experienced in the United States is sciatica pain, and this sort of pain is often a lotmoredifficult to identify—especiallyby those who aren’t familiar with the problem.
Is It Back Pain or Sciatica? Themostcommon type of back pain experienced is in the lower back, and it can happen for any variety of reasons. Being in a car accident can cause you to experience lingering back pain for years after the accident. Accidents at work can lead to similar consequences. But sometimes the causeofyourbackpain isn’tasstraightforward. Back pain can also develop for any number of common reasons — things that you do every day without thinking twice. An old desk chair that doesn’t provide much lumbar support can take its toll over time, as can wearing shoes that don’t have much support, or even gaining weight, particularly around the stomach area. Too many people consider back pain a normal experience of their lives and don’t immediately seeksupport thatcouldmake thepainan issue of the past. Working with a physical therapist is, hands down, the best thing that you can do when you are looking to overcome back pain. A physical therapist can identify the cause of the back pain and present you with helpful strategies that can strengthen your back and reduce the severity of your pain. Physical therapy for back pain often includes a combination of targeted massage, flexibility and range of motion training, muscle building, and targetedstretching techniques.Using these strategies incombinationwithanti-inflammatory medication,as recommendedbyyourphysician, isoftenconsidered themost-efficientapproach to handling back pain and is recommended by theAmericanAcademyofOrthopedicSurgeons.
INSIDE: • Back Pain V.S. Sciatica Pain • February: Heart Health Month • Patient Success Spotlight • Exercise Essentials • Healthy Recipe • Free Workshop: January 29th
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