Sprain / Strain
It can be quite easy to sprain or strain your back. A sprain refers to an overstretching injury of your ligaments in your spine, whereas a strain refers to an overstretching injury to your muscles. There are hundreds of small muscles in the spine, which guide the intricate movements of each bone and multi-level joints. This delicate ballet of movement can get into trouble when heavy lifting is involved.
The majority of people sprain or strain their back when they combine lifting with twisting. The best way to avoid an injury to the low back is to use your legs when lifting, bending at the knees and keeping your back fairly straight. If you have to turn while lifting, move your feet, otherwise the strain of lifting while twisting can cause injury.
Tearing of the tissues occurs during a sprain / strain. While this is often not a full complete tear, the resulting damage can cause significant swelling and pain to occur deep in the back. Typical healing times can take at least 6-12 weeks for complete healing.
How physiotherapy helps
Physiotherapy is very important in your recovery from a back sprain / strain. The sooner we can see you, the better. After the injury, it is important for you to receive therapy to reduce the inflammation process as quickly as possible. Often, the root cause of the problem is limited motion in the hips or pelvis and even mid-back which causes abnormal forces in the low back.
Our therapists work with you to loosen any restricted areas, improve movement, quickly reduce your pain and strengthen your core muscles to prevent injury. It is vital that you complete a full course of therapy to ensure that you don’t reinjure your back again. Studies have shown that people who do not properly retrain their core muscles after a sprain / strain injury are more likely to re-injure their back again. Call us today to discover how we can help you quickly relieve your back pain and get back to the activities you enjoy.
Mid Back Pain
Mid back pain refers to pain in the “thoracic” spine. This is the area from the shoulders down to the mid back area. Pain in this area can be for a variety of reasons, but typically occurs from poor posture or a forward slouched posture. With this posture, your back muscles stretch out, causing weakness.
Pain can often feel like a burning or sometimes shooting pain to the mid back area. At times, pain can even feel like it is radiating under the shoulder blade. However, with most mid back pain, it can be difficult to really pinpoint the area it is hurting.
How physiotherapy helps
Physiotherapy is very important in treating mid back pain. Our physiotherapists work with you to discover spinal areas that may not be moving ideally. This limitation in movement can cause strain on the sections above and below that affected area. By improving spinal joint mobility, soothing sore muscles and restoring posture, your mid back pain can be relieved quite quickly.
We then educate you on proper strengthening and postural techniques to maintain your gains in therapy. Call us today to discover how we can relieve your mid back pain quickly and return you to a pain-free life.
Spinal Arthritis and Spinal Stenosis
What is Spinal Arthritis?
Spinal Arthritis is a very common area for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The low back takes a tremendous strain throughout our lifetime, supporting the body, moving, sitting and repetitively bending. In addition to these contributing factors, arthritis can also be affected by genetics, age, previous injuries, diet and exercise.
With abnormal forces on the back, the cartilage on the joints at each level of the spine can rub down causing even wear, build up of bone and eventually bone on bone rubbing. This can result in painful movement of the spinal joints and chronic, achy pain in the low back. Much like an arthritic knee, the spinal joints are helped through restoring natural movement, improving support from the spinal muscles and proper posture.
What is Spinal Stenosis?
Spinal Stenosis is a condition that typically goes hand in hand with spinal arthritis. Spinal stenosis refers to a narrowing of the central spinal canal or the canals where the nerves exit the spine to the lower legs (called foramen). These canals are made up of overlapping spinal bones (vertebrae) over another. With degeneration of the spinal joints, collapsing of the disc height or abnormal bone growth, the canals can narrow. This leads to rubbing and even pressure on the nerves, which can cause a multitude of symptoms.
How physiotherapy helps
Physiotherapy can have a very positive effect on patients with spinal arthritis and spinal stenosis. While our therapists cannot revert your arthritis degeneration, we can restore more natural movement to the spinal joints, improve flexibility to increase joint fluid circulation, improve spinal muscle strength and educate you on correct posture and prevention techniques.
The result is that you can do more, with less pain. Often, patients report significant reduction in pain and improvement in daily activities from just a few short weeks of physiotherapy. Call us today to find out more how we can help you have pain relief from spinal stenosis!
Herniated or Bulging Disc
A disc is a jelly like, fluid filled sac that acts as a cushion between the bones of your neck (vertebrae). Your discs change as you age, drying out and becoming more brittle. In addition, as the discs dry out with age, the change in height between the vertebrae decreases, causing changes in posture and function. In younger adults, the center of the disc (nucleus) is held in place by many rings of the disc (picture a cross section of a tree trunk). With minor or major injuries, poor posture and strain, these rings can rupture allowing a pressing outward of the disc nucleus. Finally, as the nucleus reaches the outer edges, the disc can begin to bulge, which in turn can rub and irritate nerve roots exiting your spine.
In more severe cases, the disc can become herniated, which further presses into the spaces where nerves are exiting. Symptoms can range from localized pain, to numbness / tingling to a specific part of the shoulder, arm or hands. In more severe cases complete lack of sensation, muscle weakness and paralysis of an area of the upper extremity can occur.
Changes in posture, strength and range of motion can all affect the positioning of the disc and how much bulging or herniation is occurring.
How physiotherapy helps
The good news is that the majority of bulging and herniated discs can be treated conservatively with physiotherapy. By working with your medical history, symptoms and testing, our physiotherapists can determine what areas have been affected.
A thorough plan is then created to relieve pressure on the disc by improving joint function, muscle strength and posture. Modalities, such as ultrasound or electrical stimulation may be used to reduce pain, muscle spasm or inflammation. Our therapists work with you to recover lost strength and range of motion. In addition, we then train you on the correct exercises to maintain good posture and reduce the risk of future episodes. Call us today to discover how we can help relieve your pain quickly and restore your function!
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a very common condition in women after the age of 40, but men do suffer from this condition too. Osteoporosis is a thinning of the bones due to the change in calcium depositing and uptake. As we age, this cycle tends to take out more calcium than is put into our bones. Common areas for osteoporosis are in the spine and hips.
Osteoporosis makes people more susceptible to fractures from ordinary activities. Often, compression fractures in the spine a crumbling of the bone. A lot can be done to address osteoporosis and even improve bone strength. This comes from strengthening exercises, medication, a good walking program and proper nutrition.
How physiotherapy helps
Since strengthening is a critical part of osteoporosis management, physical therapists are experts in preparing a coordinated, easy-to-do exercise program to target specific osteoporotic areas. Often, people with osteoporosis will also have limited spinal and hip movement, which increases the stresses on bones. Physiotherapists are experts at treating these limitations and restoring your body to a more optimum state.
We work in conjunction with your doctor to program out a specific treatment plan for you ensuring a road to stronger bones and injury prevention. Call us today to discover how we can help your osteoporosis!
Degenerative Diseases
Degenerative diseases of the spine fall under the categories of Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) or Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD). In the spine, this is typically due to age and genetics. The wearing down of the joints or discs causes loss in normal height of the bony segments in the back. This can cause excessive joint pressures, bone on bone rubbing and increased inflammation. Typically with DDD or DJD comes stiffening of the spinal joints and weakening of key spinal muscles.
How physiotherapy helps
While the degenerative process cannot be reversed, there is a lot that can be done to improve mobility, reduce pain, improve strength and improve function. Physiotherapy is the ideal, non-invasive treatment that helps to improve spinal flexibility, core muscle strength, reduce pain and improve posture. All of these contribute to less pain and a return to normal or modified activities. Call us today to discover how we can help your back pain and return you to the activities you love!
Compression Fractures
Compression fractures in the low back typically occur in older individuals and those suffering from osteoporosis. However, with severe trauma, such as in an accident, the force can cause a compression fracture in the bones of the spine (vertebrae). There are many minimally invasive surgical procedures today that can stabilize the broken area, such as kyphoplasty.
The goal with managing compression fractures is to stabilize pieces of bone from moving around and allow time for the bone to heal. Dealing with a compression fracture can be quite painful. Difficulty with getting up/down from bed, a chair and even difficulty walking are experienced.
How physiotherapy helps
Our physiotherapists work with your physician’s protocols for compression fractures. Based on your individual difficulties, we work with you to gently rehabilitate your spinal movement and strength. Our physiotherapists have years of training in helping patients with back injuries and will work with you to relieve your pain, improve your mobility, strength and get you back to normal activities as soon as possible. Call us today to discover how we can help you relieve your back pain and get back to normal activities!
Post-surgery Rehab
There are many surgical procedures for the low back including discectomies, laminectomies and even spinal fusion surgeries. The goal of most of these surgeries is to remove any broken bone, tissues or discs that may be pressing on exiting nerves from the spine. Furthermore, bringing stability to the spinal area is critical. It is important that you discuss with your physician conservative treatments first, such as physical therapy before surgery is absolutely necessary.
How physiotherapy helps
Physiotherapy plays a critical role in the recovery after low back surgeries. We work closely with your physician to ensure that we follow the surgical protocols in your recovery. Typically, the first phase is to help with pain-relief and education in proper movement to protect your surgery site while healing occurs. As your physician clears you for more activities, gentle hands on therapy and very gentle exercises of the legs, hips, abdominals and supporting muscles begin. Generally range of motion is begun and activation of stabilizing muscles.
As you heal and your surgery protocol allows, gentle strengthening exercises are begun along with specific stabilization exercises to rehabilitate your core muscles that support your spine. Physiotherapy for walking, balance and spinal coordination are also performed. The goal is to reduce your back pain quickly, protect your spine during recovery and properly rehabilitate your spine to allow you to return to normal activities. Call us today before or after spinal surgery, we can help!
What People
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The difference is night and day — after just a few sessions at Movement Therapy, my chronic neck pain has subsided, and I'm finally enjoying activities I had given up on. Their team’s dedication and tailored treatment have given me a new lease on life. Highly recommend!
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After weeks of back pain, Movement Therapy's expert team had me back to work — and play — faster than I ever expected. A life-changing experience!
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