You may be surprised to learn that your doctor may seek advice from a physical therapist when treating your back pain problems. It is not that your doctor doesn’t know about the condition, but rather that your doctor wants to work out a plan for your treatment with someone who specializes in it and who will be working with you. Ultimately, your doctor takes what information he gathers from your treatment plan, and then makes orders for your physical therapist on what type of treatment you’ll receive and for how long.
Collaborative Back Pain Therapy
The best treatment you can get from your physical therapist should result when your physical therapist and doctor work together closely. While treating back pain, the physical therapist will normally teach you some exercises you can do on your own between treatments and after treatments. You must take this advice on treating back pain seriously because a good regimen from a physical therapist may prevent you from needing treatment in the future or at the least should reduce the severity of recurrences.
One of the things your physical therapist will focus on while treating back pain is teaching you how to correctly posture your body. This is important during everyday living. It may also be important to posture yourself just right for each exercise the physical therapist wants you to perform while treating back pain or trying to prevent recurrences.
Muscle Building for Back Pain Relief
The main purpose of most physical therapy is to properly form muscles. This is as true as ever when treating back pain. Building a strong muscular frame around your back and abdomen can relieve a lot of the daily stress on your spine and the rest of your back which can lead to back pain and complications. In many cases, it is this stress that has caused the back problems, but in other instances, it could be a traumatic injury. Regardless of the reason for back pain, well-developed muscles are a key to regaining health.
While treating back pain symptoms, your physical therapist may also have you take on several comfort positions that will help you relax your back. Commonly this will involve such positions as being prone with arms to the side or sitting straight with back arched. These positions should not be attempted without first getting proper instruction from your physical therapist or doctor.
As you progress, or if you are already in good shape, your physical therapist may put you on some more challenging exercises. Treating back pain is a complex process that your physical therapist can make simple for you by taking you forward one step at a time as your body is ready. Your therapist may suddenly tell you to take a couple of days of bed rest and then follow it up by moving you to exercises such as press-ups and standing extensions. The goal of treating back pain at this point is to get rid of all of the symptomatic pains and then finish the supporting muscle development. These exercises may be followed by some hot and cold therapy to prevent further inflammation in the back.
