Back Pain
Back pain is the most common reason people see a physical therapist, and most of it is mechanical: a strained muscle, an irritated disc or stiff joints. Physical therapy finds which one is behind yours and treats it with hands-on care, exercise and education. Xcelerate Physical Therapy treats back pain in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.
What is behind your low back pain
Lower back pain rarely has one cause. The plan depends on how it started, exactly where it is and your history.
Strained muscles and back spasms
Lifting, twisting or hours of bending can leave you feeling like you pulled a muscle in your back. The muscles around the spot guard and tighten into back spasms.
Herniated disc and bulging disc
A herniated disc or a bulging disc can irritate a nearby nerve and send pain into the buttock or leg. Leg symptoms get their own page, Sciatica.
Degenerative disc disease and stenosis
Degenerative disc disease is common as we age. People with it often describe a dull, aching low back and trouble standing or walking for long. A narrowed spinal canal, called stenosis, can add leg symptoms.
Sacroiliac joint pain
The sacroiliac joint sits where the spine meets the pelvis and can cause one-sided pain low in the back and into the buttock.
New pain, long-lasting pain, and why staying active usually beats bed rest
Back pain is called acute when it is new and chronic when it lasts three months or longer. Either way, it is worth getting looked at. Back pain that comes and goes can leave behind stiff joints and a weak core, and those set you up for the next flare-up.
For new back pain, staying active within your comfort usually helps more than bed rest. Your physical therapist shows you which movements are safe now and how to build back up.
What a back pain evaluation involves
Your story
How the pain started, what makes it worse, such as back pain from sitting or back pain when bending, and what you want to be able to do again.
How you move
Your therapist tests how your spine and hips move, how strong your trunk is, and which direction of movement eases your symptoms.
Your plan
You leave with a plan built around what the evaluation found and your goals, and exercises to start at home.
How we treat low back pain
Hands-on care
Manual therapy, including joint mobilization and soft tissue work, eases stiff joints and tight muscle so you can move more freely.
Exercise that fits your back
Directional preference exercises, core strengthening and stretching, chosen by how your symptoms respond to movement.
Lifting and posture training
We teach you how to lift, sit and move through your day so the pain is less likely to return, and use pain-relieving modalities such as heat, ice or electrical stimulation when they help.
When your back pain involves your legs, hips or job
If the pain travels below the knee, or you have numbness or tingling, read about Sciatica. Stiff hips often overload the low back, so we look at hip pain too. Back pain tied to worn joints is covered under Arthritis & Joint Pain, and an injury at your job under work injuries.
If chronic back pain has followed you for years, a plan that combines exercise, education and hands-on care can still help. Ask us what is realistic for you.
See a doctor first, or go to the ER, if you have
Most back pain is not dangerous, but these signs are not for a physical therapy visit first.
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
- Numbness in the groin or inner thighs
- Fever along with back pain
- Back pain after a serious fall or accident
In Pennsylvania you can see a physical therapist without a physician’s referral, but your insurance may require one: call the number on your insurance card to check, or call us before your first visit.
Back pain care in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
Xcelerate Physical Therapy treats back pain at our Newtown Square clinic, 214 S. Newtown Street Road.
In Pennsylvania you can see a physical therapist without a physician’s referral, but your insurance may require one: call the number on your insurance card to check, or call us before your first visit.
Meet the people who treat you on our team page.