Back Pain Treatment Begins with Noninvasive Therapy
When there are no signs of neurological symptoms the accompany your back
pain, our physicians routinely prescribe physical therapy (PT) and over-the-counter
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) medications. These are
the most commonly recommended therapies for back pain lasting between
2 to 6 weeks. A typical PT program for back pain combines “active”
and “passive” components designed to decrease pain and improve function.
Physical therapy is part of Inspired Spine’s recommended Conservative
Treatment Path, in which we exhaust all noninvasive or minimally invasive
treatment modalities before potentially resorting to spinal surgery.
For example, for the first 3 to 6 months of your Conservative Treatment
Path, the therapies we recommend include:
Physical therapy, OTC pain medications, chiropractic care, yoga, and other
alternative medicine. During this time, we may also recommend advanced
diagnostic procedures to pinpoint the exact cause of your pain, such as
an upright MNRI or discogram
Types of Physical Therapy: Passive & Active
Passive Physical Therapies are those that are performed on you by your physical therapist. The goal
of passive PT is to reduce your pain and make it more manageable, until
you can become more active. Examples of passive PT are heat/ice packs,
ultrasound, and
TENS Therapy.
Ultrasound Therapy uses sound waves to provide deep heating to muscles and soft tissue to
reduce pain.
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) It aims to manage pain by delivering low voltage stimulation to painful
muscles in the back.
Active physical therapy involves exercises you perform yourself while exerting physical effort
with the goal of regaining movement and range of motion. These exercises
are designed to stretch and strengthen the spine and back muscles. The
goal of active PT is not only to improve immediate function, but also
to provide a maintenance program to prevent future recurrences of back
pain. Although active physical therapy takes effort and determination,
it is worth the effort to restore your range of motion and decrease back pain.
Examples of active physical therapy include:
Movement-based activities such as range-of-motion exercises
Strengthening exercises
Low-impact aerobic conditioning, such as recumbent cycling, ankle weights,
and weight hand balls, among others
Are you interested in relieving your back pain and avoiding the need for
surgery? Learn more about our Conservative Treatment Path by getting int
ouch with Inspired Spine at
(952) 225-5266 or
reach out online.
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