upper back pain relief.

Yes, physical therapy is becoming the treatment of choice by medical professionals when managing patients experiencing back pain. If back pain has just occurred and it is difficult to move then finding positions of comfort and rest is the best treatment. There are also many forms of manual treatment with physical therapy that can help decrease pain such as massage, soft tissue mobilization, joint mobilization and manual traction. Once the acute symptoms (sudden pain) have subsided then active movement and exercising can be very beneficial. A skilled physical therapist trained in treatment of the spine can help prescribe the right treatment program for your back pain.

Repetitive work with your arms or poor postural positions may cause problems in your neck. Also, improper strength training exercises or poor exercise technique can be problematic. A physical therapist can be helpful in advising on posture and exercise. Some common diagnoses in patients experiencing neck pain are degenerative discs, pinched nerves, muscle tightness or tension, and facet joint problems that cause pain and stiffness.

Sciatica is a general term used for referred pain in one’s legs that originates from his or her back. The sciatic nerve is a large nerve that runs down the back of your leg. There are many nerve roots that come out of your spinal column and bundle together to form the sciatic nerve and therefore injury to, or inflammation of, the sciatic nerve (sciatica) can give you varying degrees and locations of pain in your leg (referred pain). Often times, the problem lies at the nerve root level due to some sort of impingement (“pinched nerve”) like a bulging disc or a chemical inflammation from locally inflamed tissues. It is very common for patients to experience both back pain and sciatica. Physical therapy can be helpful when experiencing back pain and sciatica.

Generally speaking, for those suffering from neck pain and back pain, there is a very small percent of this population that are good surgical candidates and your surgeon will help identify the criteria for a particular surgery. In most cases, when you are not a surgical candidate, trying conservative treatment such as physical therapy first is the best choice. Those who do elect to have surgery usually require physical therapy post-operatively. Some of the most common surgical procedures we see post-operatively would be discectomy, laminectomy, and spinal fusion.

A bad whiplash injury is similar to a bad ankle sprain in that due to the trauma of the injury there can be a lot of swelling and inflammation of the many tissues that surround your joints. The difference being that in the neck there are many more joints and nerves. Just like a bad ankle sprain, it can take months and even up to a year to heal. Physical Therapy can benefit those suffering from whiplash as there are various pain modulation techniques and it also can help stabilize the joints along the spinal column.