Your spine is very complex and consists of many joints, soft tissue, a spinal cord and hundreds of nerves that run to your arms and legs. It’s the essential anatomical feature that connects your arms to your legs and allows you to move around and live a healthy, vibrant life. Maintaining spine health is essential to staying active and pain-free. Our physical therapists are skilled in the treatment of the spine and fully understand the anatomy, physiology and functional aspects of your spine.
At Professional Physical Therapy, our licensed physical therapists receive advanced clinical training in the treatment and management of various spine conditions. If you’re suffering from middle back pain, low back pain, neck pain, whiplash, disc bulges, pinched nerves, sciatica, spinal stenosis, and post-surgery pain from laminectomy, discectomy and spinal fusion, chances are your spine needs some attention. In many cases, physical therapy for spine conditions can help you find relief and avoid unnecessary spine surgery.
How physical therapy can help your spine
The spine and discs are surrounded by muscles, and strengthening these muscles means less stress is being placed on the discs and joints of the spine. Although most cases of lower back pain will get better on their own, active physical therapy and a personalized regimen of exercises for spine conditions will help provide pain relief and improve function. An ongoing exercise program also reduces the likelihood that the back pain will return in the future.
Here are some of the most common reasons people seek help:
A slipped disk that isn’t healing
Bone spurs in your spine
Stenosis
Weakness or numbness in your arms and legs
Trouble walking or using your hands
Lack of bladder or bowel control
A broken or dislocated bone in your back
A spinal tumor
Common exercises that can help relieve spinal pain
Most physical therapy programs that treat back and neck pain will include a combination of the following exercises.
Stretching
A regular routine of stretching, combined with active exercise, will go a long way toward helping maintain your normal range of motion and provide relief for muscles suffering from disuse. It will also help prevent muscle spasms from poor posture. Regular stretching of the lower back muscles, abdominal muscles, hips, and legs, will help prevent you from having back issues. Following a stretching routine that has been personally designed for you by a physical therapist is always the best course of action, and we specialize in creating targeted stretching regimens tailored to each client.
Stabilization
The point of dynamic stabilization exercise is to strengthen the secondary muscles of the spine and help support the spine through various ranges of motion. They may require the use of exercise balls, balancing machines or specific stabilizing exercises.
Core strengthening
These are specific exercises designed to strengthen the abdominal muscles and lower back muscles to provide a belt of muscle around the spine.
Core strengthening exercises usually include:
Abdominal strengthening workout routines, including as sit-ups, crunches, abdominal machines, and leg raises.
Lower back exercises, which can be performed on machines or by lying on the stomach and slowly raising the chest off the ground. This forces your lower back muscles to hyperextend the spine.
‘Good-mornings’ – this exercise is great for strengthening the lower back muscles, requiring the patient to stand with legs straight and shoulder width apart, with a broom-stick or weighted bar across the shoulders. The patient then slowly bends forward until the face is parallel to the floor and then raises back up.
There is a range of different ways to experience neck and back pain, and none of them are comfortable. Across our therapy clinics, our spinal physical therapists understand this, and will develop a rehabilitation program specially designed to meet your individual needs.
Here are some of the treatment methods we typically use to get our patients standing upright again.
Pain Modulation Techniques
Manual Therapy
Joint Mobilization
Manual Muscle Stretching
Manual Traction
Soft Tissue Mobilization
Exercise Therapy
Self-Management Techniques
Heat/Cold Therapy
Are you experiencing back pain?
Our physical therapists will customize a back and spine physical therapy plan just for you. We will work in an effective way to get you back on your feet, focused on your wellness before, during and after therapy.
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Insurances We Accept
Below is a condensed list of insurances we participate with throughout our network of physical therapy clinics. Find your particular provider below based on your area. For a complete listing of all insurance providers and individual plans by name: CLICK HERE FOR OUR FULL INSURANCE PAGE.
We provide treatments for spine related injuries and pain from our physical therapy clinics in Manhattan, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Fill out the form above, or contact a clinic near you to speak with a Professional Physical Therapist and spine specialist today.
Back pain is the most common type of chronic pain in the U.S., and if you’ve been living with back pain for a while, you’re probably thinking about seeing a spine surgeon. The good news is, surgery isn’t the only option. In many cases back pain can be effectively treated with a customized regimen of physical therapy services designed to reduce pain, support long-term pain management, improve mobility, and help you return to everyday activities.
Do I need to see a spine surgeon before starting physical therapy?
Not necessarily. Many patients begin physical therapy for spine conditions without ever seeing a spine surgeon, thanks to Direct Access laws in most of our service areas. If your condition doesn’t improve, your physical therapist can help coordinate a referral.
Will physical therapy help me avoid spine surgery?
In many cases, yes. Physical therapy may reduce or eliminate the need for spine surgery by addressing the underlying muscle imbalances and movement patterns contributing to your pain. Your spine therapist will monitor your progress and adjust your program as needed.
What therapy techniques are used to treat back and neck pain?
Our therapy clinics use a range of therapy techniques — including manual therapy, joint mobilization, and therapeutic exercise — to treat back and neck pain and help you return to daily activities.
How do spine physical therapists treat chronic spine conditions?
Spine physical therapists typically start by identifying the movement patterns and muscle weaknesses contributing to your symptoms. From there, they build a plan of targeted physical exercise, combined with manual therapy and postural training, to manage chronic spine conditions and reduce the likelihood of flare-ups over time.
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