The Benefits of Physiotherapy for Low Back Pain
Lower back pain is a sensation all too familiar to millions of people. This ache can hinder many aspects of your life: working, spending time with friends and family, partaking in the activities you enjoy, and even just relaxing.
The World Health Organization estimates that in the United States, 149 million days of work are lost due to low back pain. It is the leading cause of inactivity among adults, and it can result in other health issues if left untreated. It is also extremely common, appearing in 60-70% of people across industrialized nations.
If lower back pain is plaguing your everyday life, it is important that you find relief as soon as you can. For more information on how we can help get you back to a pain-free life, contact Lake Country Physio today.
How Can Physiotherapy Help?
Physiotherapists focus specifically on pain and injury to help their patients regain function, comfort, and mobility. Physiotherapy treatments are used to alleviate pain, promote healing, and bring restored function and movement to the painful area. When you come in for a consultation, your physiotherapist will provide you with an extensive evaluation, discovering what form of treatment will be best for whatever orthopedic, neurologic, or cardiovascular condition you are facing.
Physiotherapy also consists of two categorized types of treatments: passive physiotherapy and active physiotherapy:
Passive Physiotherapy
Your physiotherapist may employ a combination of specialized treatments tailored to your needs. These can include:
- Electrical Stimulation (TENS Units): Despite its intimidating name, electrical stimulation is a painless treatment that delivers gentle waves of electricity to your nervous system. This technique promotes pain relief, reduces muscle spasms, and stimulates the body’s natural production of pain-relieving hormones.
- Massage and Manual Therapies: Through targeted manipulation of soft tissues, massage therapy helps reduce pain and swelling Manual therapies involve hands-on techniques performed by your physiotherapist to improve mobility and alleviate discomfort.
- Hydrotherapy: This unique aquatic-based treatment involves performing low-intensity exercises in water. Hydrotherapy relieves muscle pressure, allowing joints to move freely and comfortably. It is particularly beneficial for individuals with lower back pain.
- Ultrasound: Utilizing sound waves to generate heat deep within tissues, ultrasound therapy aids in reducing inflammation, relieving pain, and promoting healing.
- Dry Needling: By inserting thin needles into specific trigger points within the muscles, dry needling can effectively relieve muscle tension and pain.
- Heat/Ice Packs: Applying heat or cold therapy can provide immediate relief for pain and decrease swelling in the affected area.
- Iontophoresis: This technique involves the application of a mild electrical current to deliver medication through the skin, targeting inflammation and pain.
Your physiotherapist will determine the most suitable combination of these techniques based on their evaluation of your condition. While some methods primarily address pain and swelling, others focus on promoting healing, reducing muscle spasms, and improving overall functionality.
Remember, every treatment plan is unique, and your physiotherapist will tailor the approach to address your specific needs. With passive physiotherapy, you can find effective relief and regain control over your lower back pain.
Active Physiotherapy
The purpose of active physiotherapy is to provide exercises that the patient can do on their own in the later stages of their physiotherapy treatment.
Once your lower back pain has subsided enough that your physiotherapist believes you are ready for active physiotherapy, he or she will set up and exercise schedule specific to your needs. This can include any combination of stretching, strength training, and stability training, and it is all geared toward helping you gain back your flexibility, range of motion, and muscle strength.
These exercises will help provide support to the painful area and will guide you further in your recovery process.
3 Tips For Relieving Lower Back Pain
Below are three techniques that can dramatically decrease your discomfort from back pain, and the best part is that you can even do them at home!
1. Use Ice And Heat Therapies To Your Advantage
Alternating hot and cold packs on the lower back is a common option for relieving back pain, however, you don’t need to alternate if you prefer one temperature over the other!
Using both hot and cold packs is not a must, but switching between the two extremes can provide a fuller range of benefits with relieving back pain.
There are many benefits to heated compresses. Hot compresses ease pain by blocking the “signals” that come from the nerves in your lower back toward your brain. Heat also increases circulation.
This extra blood flow helps facilitate the healing properties found in your bloodstream. Cold compresses and packs come to the rescue with their ability to halt spasms, numb pain, and reduce swelling in the affected areas. Some people prefer one temperature over the other.
During physiotherapy, your therapist will most likely apply one or both of these packs to the affected areas.
It’s a good idea to ask your physiotherapist about what kind of compress would be the best option for your at-home treatment. Both heating pads and ice packs are inexpensive and accessible options.
2. Be As Active As Your Body Allows
Sometimes taking it easy and resting up is the best way to relieve lower back pain. This is especially true if your pain stems from an injury or a re-injury to a specific spot. Resting and applying ice to the affected area is a good way to reduce swelling at home.
When it comes to chronic lower back pain though, getting up and moving around is much better and more effective at relieving pain than resting or lying around all day. Physical activity releases endorphins, which have natural pain-killing properties. They also improve your mood, which is an added bonus!
It’s important to work out and have a daily exercise routine but make sure you don’t overdo it before consulting with a licensed physiotherapist. Taking a walk every day is an easy way to make sure you’re staying limber and releasing those natural endorphins. Wearing a back brace can also be helpful, as it will support your lower back as you move around.
RELATED READING: 5 Ways You Can Start Living a More Active Life
Physiotherapy is a wonderful option as it delivers exercise benefits in a safe way – under the care of a professional. Your physiotherapist will monitor your activity and make sure you’re aware of particular movements that might result in injury.
They can also help you with flexibility and teach you exercises and stretches to help build up the muscles around your spine, which will in turn increase strength in your lower back. Having a greater range of motion will decrease the amount of stiffness you feel as well!
3. Focus On Hamstrings
A physiotherapy session can get you on the right track to targeting specific hamstring muscles. When the backs of your upper thighs become too tight, your lower back has to do lots of hard work to compensate.
Your hamstring muscles are a deciding factor in whether or not your lower back joints become over-stressed. Stretching your hamstrings helps lengthen and loosen those muscles. It also may soothe your lower back — especially if you experience spasms.
At home, try bending over to reach down to your toes two times a day. Don’t strain as you reach down, and try not to let your knees lock up either.
If you feel any pain, stop the exercise and talk to your physiotherapist about alternative ways to lengthen your hamstrings. You don’t want to put any unnecessary stress or strain on your hammies, but this is a great way to stretch if you are able.
RELATED READING: Discover the Benefits of Regular Stretching
What to Expect With Back Pain Physiotherapy
At your initial consultation, your physiotherapist will ask you several questions regarding your medical history, lifestyle, and painful area(s). This information will assist your physiotherapist in creating the best treatment plan for you and your specific needs, so you can be provided with long-term results.
After your consultation, your evaluation process will begin. Your physiotherapist will examine you by assessing your posture, coordination, strength, balance, flexibility, blood pressure, and/or heart rate, depending on your pain and symptoms. This evaluation will be both manual and visual.
When you’ve completed your thorough evaluation, your physiotherapist will then create your treatment plan, beginning with passive physiotherapy and leading into active physiotherapy. You may also be given exercises to do at home, during your time away from treatments. This is all done in order to reduce pain, avoid further injury, and provide you with the quickest recovery time possible.
If you believe your lower back pain could benefit from our physiotherapy services, contact Lake Country Physio today to schedule your initial consultation. We’ll help you stand up to your back pain!
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