WAPT Rehab. The Ideal Treatment For Low Back Pain

NEWSLETTER

November 2019

Independently owned and operated since 1997

The Ideal Treatment For Low Back Pain

LOWER BACK PAIN IN THE UNITED STATES According to the National Institute for Health, the rates of low back pain have been steadily rising in the United States over the past 20 years. The study was conducted by medical researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Researchers consulted with members of the North Carolina community who experienced back pain to understand what caused their pain, how frequently they experience thepain,andwhat theseverityof thepain is like.They foundby talking withhouseholdmembersacrossthestatethatthe incidenceof lowerbackpainhas increasedsignificantlysincethe lasttimethissurveywasconducted,whichwas in 1992.Since1992, thepercentageofpeoplecopingwith lowerbackpain increased from just over three percent to well over 10 percent. This is a significant finding, especiallywhen itwasfoundthatthe increase in lowerbackpainremainedconstant acrossdemographics.Afurther interestingfinding isthatofthosewhoexperience lower back pain, 84 percent opted to seek medical treatment to address the pain, which was an increase of more than 10 percent in 1992. This means that while morepeopleareexperiencingbackpain,morepeoplearealsoseekingtreatmentfor thatpain,thoughthere isstillanapproximate15percentofthepopulationwhoare coping with severe lower backpain without treatment. For those, seeking support from a physical therapist could significantly improve quality of life.

Lowbackpain isby faroneof themostcommonailmentseverexperienced.Just about everyone deals with low back pain at one point in their life. For some, the lucky ones, perhaps, the pain is just for a day or two as a result of a particularly grueling day of yard work or a slip-and-fall accident that landed you flat on your bum with a bruise to prove it. For others, the low back pain is something that lingers for years and years, getting worse as a result of improper footwear or particularly unsupportive furniture, and never really healing or going away. It isestimated thatone-halfofallAmericansexperience lowerbackpainannually, and it is considered to be the leading cause of workplace disability worldwide— not just in the United States. It is also one of the most common reasons that people miss work, and is the second most common reason that people visit the doctor’s office. When you put those two facts together, the cost of dealing with lower back pain really starts to add up. The average annual cost of dealing with back pain in the United States is $50 billion dollars. Unfortunately, a lot of those financial resources go into dealing with back pain through pain management and medication, but that is not an effective long-term solution for dealing with backpain.A farhealthierandcost-effectivesolution is throughphysical therapy.

YOU’RE INVITED TO OUR FREE BACK PAIN & SCIATICA WORKSHOP DECEMBER 17TH AT 6 PM • CALL 425.820.2110 TO REGISTER.

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