Is your back pain becoming more than you can manage? Few problems can render a person’s ability to move and fulfill basic needs inept like chronic back pain. According to a division of the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), more than 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, and chronic back pain is a leading type of pain. It presents numerous challenges for families, friends and health providers. While traditional approaches included the use of medications and even surgery, alternatives, such as physical therapy, may alleviate symptoms with significant benefits. Those suffering should learn more about noninvasive treatment options for chronic back pain by speaking with a Springfield Physical Therapy now.
What Is Chronic Back Pain?
Chronic back pain refers to pain that lasts more than three months. It is a progressive pain that gradually worsens with time and basic daily activities. Furthermore, the specific cause of back pain may remain unknown. A person simply may not know what caused it or pinpoint a point of origin. However, most people can recover from back pain by understanding its causes, especially those that do not derive from an incident, such as a car accident.
What Are the Causes of Chronic Back Pain?
Chronic back pain may arise from two issues, including a sudden, traumatic injury or repetitive stress on the vertebrae. Pain includes sensations, such as a prick, burn, tingle, sting, sharp pain and aches. Acute pain is typically an expected bodily response to a severe injury. However, the repeated use of joints after an inflammatory response may lead to the worsening of symptoms and disease progression, explains the NINDS. In addition, those with poor posture, bulging or herniated discs, arthritis, skeletal irregularities and osteoporosis may suffer from chronic back pain more often than their peers, says the Mayo Clinic. Other facts, such as age, weight, poor lifting practices and even mental health conditions, may increase risk for back pain, and it only takes one injury for a condition to persist into the realm of long-term problems.
How Does Physical Therapy Treat Chronic Back Pain?
Choosing physical therapy as a first-line treatment is quickly becoming the most popular and well-recommended means of managing chronic pain. According to Move Forward PT, government agencies, including the CDC, now recommend the use of noninvasive treatments, such as therapy, prior to medication or surgical management of chronic pain, including chronic back pain. This results from the various ways therapy treat underlying causes of pain and improve joint health. Physical treatment manages chronic back pain with these key measures:
- Increased muscle strength. As the physical therapist works to develop an exercise regimen that is safe and effective for the joint, muscle strength and endurance increases. This provides a protective effect.
- Improved circulation to the affected area. Increased circulation to the affected area promotes healing and ensures the joint has plenty of nutrients to repair itself.
- Decreased inflammatory response. As the joint begins to improve in health, inflammatory responses decrease. This results in pain reductions.
- Passive and active range of motion. Both passive and active range of motion exercises prevents joints from becoming fixed, allowing a person to move more with less pain over time. Passive motion also helps those that are in too much pain to move a joint on their own.
- Education to prevent worsening or recurrence of symptoms. Finally, continuing education about the causes of back pain and how to keep it at bay, such as maintaining proper posture and avoiding improper lifting techniques, will reduce risk of chronic back pain now and in the future.
Realize the Benefits of Noninvasive Therapy for Back Pain Today
Chronic back pain is debilitating, and no one should suffer without any relief. Instead of opting for costly and invasive treatments, as well as the risks of opioid treatment, those living with chronic back pain should consider physical therapy first. Learn more about how you can achieve a pain-free life by scheduling a consultation with Springfield Physical Therapy now.
