Lower Back Injuries
What are the symptoms of lower back pain?
Lower back pain can be debilitating and can strike suddenly or build slowly over time. It can come from repetitive motions, lifting, working, or you may not know what tweaked your back.
Back pain can be dull, sharp, achy, and resonating. It can even allow pain to creep up your back or down your legs with your sciatic nerve. Pain is often worse in certain positions and is alleviated when one lays down.
Other symptoms of lower back pain include:
- Stiffness: can make it difficult to stand up from a seated position and it may make it difficult to move or straighten your back as well as limiting your range of motion.
- Posture problems: Many people with back pain find it hard to stand up straight. Posture can be corrected in many cases, which can alleviate pain and long term problems.
- Muscle spasms: After a strain, muscles in the lower back can spasm or contract uncontrollably. Muscle spasms can cause extreme pain and make it difficult or impossible to stand, walk or move.
Physical Therapy Interventions are used to treat muscle spasms, pinched nerves, strains, stiffness, hypermobility, and tingling/numbness in your lower leg. Manual therapy techniques are used mobilize vertebrae or adjust the lumbar spine. Stabilization exercises are used to help recruit abdominal/spinal stabilizers to improve strength and allow your muscles to heal. Physical Therapists at JET Physical Therapy will diagnose and treat your underlying condition to get you on your road to recovery.
Many injuries, conditions and diseases can cause lower back pain. They include:
- Strains and sprains
- Fractures
- Disk problems
- Structural problems
- Arthritis
- Disease
- Stenosis
What are the treatments for lower back pain?
Lower back pain usually gets better with rest, ice and over-the-counter pain relievers. After a few days of rest, you can start to get back to your normal activities. Staying active increases blood flow to the area and helps you heal.
Other treatments for lower back pain depend on the cause. They include:
- Medications: NSAIDS
- Physical therapy: movement based exercises directed to fit your needs
- Injections: steroid
- Surgery: Microdiscectomy or Lumbar Fusion
Can I prevent lower back pain?
You can’t prevent lower back pain that results from disease or structural problems in the spine. But you can avoid injuries that cause back pain.
To reduce your risk of a back injury, you should:
- Maintain a healthy weight: Excess weight puts pressure on vertebrae and disks.
- Strengthen your abdominal muscles: Pilates and other exercise programs strengthen core muscles that support the spine.
- Lift the right way: To avoid injuries, lift with your legs (not your back). Hold heavy items close to your body. Try not to twist your torso while you’re lifting.
