Physical Therapy of Melissa. Is It Back Pain or Sciatica?

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IS IT BACK PAIN OR SCIATICA?

Does life ever feel like one large pain in the back? Back pain is difficult to deal with on a daily basis, yet for so many people, this is a total reality. By certain estimates, as many as 85 percent of adults in the United States struggle with back pain at somepoint in their lives.Themostcommon typeofbackpainexperienced is in the lowerback,and itcanhappenforanyvarietyofreasons.Being inacaraccidentcan causeyou toexperience lingeringbackpain foryearsafter theaccident.Accidents at work can lead to similar consequences. But sometimes the cause of your back pain isn’tasstraightforward.Backpaincanalsodevelopforanynumberofcommon reasons — things that you do every day without thinking twice. An old desk chair thatdoesn’tprovidemuch lumbarsupportcantake itstollovertime,ascanwearing shoes thatdon’thavemuchsupport,orevengainingweight,particularlyaround the stomach area. Too many people consider back pain a normal experience of their lives and don’t immediately seek support that could make the pain an 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 thebackpainandpresentyouwithhelpfulstrategies thatcanstrengthenyourback and reduce the severity of your pain. Physical therapy for back pain often includes acombinationof targetedmassage,flexibilityand rangeofmotion training,muscle building,and targetedstretching techniques.Using thesestrategies incombination

with anti-inflammatory medication, as recommended by your physician, is often consideredthemost-efficientapproachtohandlingbackpainand isrecommended by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. UNDERSTANDING BACK PAIN Being educated about your back pain can help you make the right choices to overcome it as quickly as possible. One of the biggest problems with back pain is that it lingers.This leadsmanypeopletodealwithbackpainforyearsonendwithout seemingly any end in sight. While there is back pain that develops as a result of strain or sprain, there is also somethingcalled lowbackdegenerativediscdisease,whichhappenswhenthediscs in your spine weaken. This frequently develops as a result of repetitive back injury and can also develop as a result of age. With degenerative disc disease, the space betweenthediscsbeginstocollapseandbecomeunstableandwillcausebackpain to develop. When you work with a physical therapist to overcome back pain as a resultofdegenerativediscdisease,yourphysicaltherapistwillbeginbystrengthening core muscle groups, which includes the abdominal wall, and will provide you with targeted massage and stretching techniques to alleviate pain.

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