Physical therapy for back and neck pain focuses on the spinal alignments as well as the joints which include the muscles, ligaments, and tendons. The blending of the physiology of exercises and applying them in the case of an injury leads to relief from pain and faster healing as well. Physical therapy has five main goals, namely:
● Educating patients about the principles of stretches and strengthening. This helps manage pain and speed up tissue healing as well.
● Educating patients on good posture and ergonomic principles to help keep the spine in its correct alignment.
● To fasten the healing procedure.
● Preventing future occurrences of the same injury.
● Educating patients to use their knowledge to help eliminate symptoms brought forth due to a forgetful moment of doing an activity improperly.
Recent studies have shown that over 90% of the human population suffers from spinal problems at one point or more in their life. While most people complain of pain in the neck and back, it is not isolated to these regions alone. According to experts, the pain travels into the arms, head, eye, glute, hip, groin, legs, feet, and so on. With each episode of back stiffness, the pain can worsen and last for longer periods of time.
Hence, it is essential to stop the cycles and find the root cause of each episode. This helps prevent damage accumulation which might even lead to failure of the spinal structure in extreme conditions. It is advisable to meet with a physical therapist if an episode of back pain lasts anywhere between two to six weeks. If the pain is considerably severe, it is better to reach out to a physical therapist even sooner.
Physical Therapy for Back Pain Management
Physical therapy helps reduce your pain to a more manageable level with passive physical therapy or modalities. These are considered passive as they are done to the patient. Some examples include TENS units, heat or ice packs, ultrasound, iontophoresis, etc.
In addition to the above-mentioned modalities, active physical therapy is also required to help rehabilitate your spine. In most cases, a back exercise program includes a combination of stretching exercises for back pain. This involves stretching the hamstrings at least twice a day. While stretching is not time-consuming, people tend to forget to do it regularly, especially when the pain starts decreasing. Experts advise you to do hamstring stretching exercises at the same time every day to make it a part of your daily routine. There are several other stretches as well that can be followed to alleviate back pain.
At the end of the day, it is essential to find relief from chronic back and neck pain as soon as possible. Since physical therapy has the ability to get this done without using an unnecessary medication, it is considered a safe option by medical professionals all over the world. In most cases, physical therapy can even find the root cause of the injury and help you say goodbye to pain forever. When left unchecked, back and neck pain can extend into other regions of your body causing serious health ailments in the long run.