Lower back pain is one of the most common causes of job-related disability and why some people miss work. It is also the second most common neurological ailment in the United States, second only to headache.

In fact, approximately 80% of adults in Western countries have, at some point, experienced lower back pain.

For some fortunate people, pain in the lower back may be resolved by itself or with the aid of medication within two to four weeks. However, there are some cases of lower back pain that may last for more than a few weeks, during which case the condition is termed as “chronic” and “progressive,” meaning it can only grow worse over time.

Moreover, 60-80% of those patients who suffer their first episode of lower back pain may experience recurring pain within one year.

According to current research, there are certain muscles in the back that work to stabilize the spine. When the spine or the back suffers an injury, these muscles are reflexively inhibited or shutdown. Worse still, these muscles do not spontaneously recover, and this is true even if patients do not feel pain and are able to return to normal activity levels.

As a result of the inhibition of these muscles, called lumbar multifidi and the transversus abdominus, lower back pain occurs. However, there are steps you can take to prevent the same thing from happening to you.

Lower Back Pain and Physical Therapy

One way to prevent the inhibition of the lumbar multifidi and transversus abdominus is through a series of physical therapy exercises.

Designed to strengthen the muscles of the lower back and keep the spine healthy, these physical therapy exercises may range from back stabilization exercises to muscle strength development and several wide variety of techniques.

In addition, a physical therapist may also recommend such methods as heat therapy, ultrasound, massage, mobilization, and education about posture and body mechanics in order to prevent lower back pain from recurring.

Some of these methods will be discussed later on. You will also find some practical self-help tips provided by experts to help you avoid lower back pain or prevent the condition from worsening.

However, before we head on to learning how lower back pain is treated through physical therapy, it is important that we first understand what causes lower back pain.

Lower Back Pain: CAUSES

There are actually many types of back pain, but the most common is pain in the lower back. Why? You might ask. The reason is simple: you carry most of your weight in the lower back. Thus, it is highly likely that a person would suffer pain in that area.

There is no definitive cause of lower back pain. Sometimes, the causes of the condition are so complex that it is difficult to pinpoint just a single one.

However, physical therapists and other healthcare professionals have observed that lower back pain is often a result of strained back muscles and ligaments due to any of the following activities:

1. Improper posture
2. Heavy lifting
3. Sudden awkward movement
4. Muscle spasm
5. Stress

We could all be guilty of the above activities. We may not suffer any back pains now, but it is likely that as we get older and the degree of inhibition of the back muscles as a result of these activities increases, back pain becomes a very distinct possibility.

In addition to these common activities, lower back pain may also result from specific conditions, such as:

Herniated disk (when the disk material presses on a nerve)

Sciatica (when a herniated disk presses on the sciatic nerve. The condition causes sharp, shooting pain through the buttocks and the back of the leg.)

Spinal stenosis (when the space around the spinal cord and nerve roots becomes narrow. This is caused by arthritis and bone overgrowth, the pain resulting from when a nerve gets pinched in the narrow space.)

Spondylosis (a type of arthritis affecting the spine due to degenerative changes brought on by aging)

Spondylolisthesis (when one vertebra in the spinal column slips forward over another)

Lower Back Pain: TREATMENT

The treatment of lower back pain depends on several factors, including the specific type of lower back pain (whether it is chronic or acute) and the purported cause.

For instance, acute lower back pain is commonly treated with pain relieving drugs, such as analgesics, or some forms of exercises that can help relax the muscles.

On the other hand, chronic back pain or one that lasts for more than two weeks and is progressive may be caused by some underlying condition, during which case the treatment plan may consist of resolving the underlying condition to treat the back pain.

Lower Back Pain and Physical Therapy Exercise

Physical therapy exercise is one of the most common methods of treating lower back pain. In fact, many home remedies for lower back pain consist of exercise, because the general theory is that if you remain active, you remain healthy. This is true in most cases.

However, for purposes of this article, the exercises featured here will be those that are practiced by physical therapists to treat patients with lower back pain.

Generally, in physical therapy exercises, the exercise program for back pain should encompass a set of stretching exercises, strengthening exercises, and low impact aerobics. Read below for more on these exercises:

-Stretching

The back of a person is composed of the spinal column and contiguous muscles, ligaments and tendons. All these are designed to move in consonance with each other so that any limitation in the range of motion in any of these components of the back result in back pain.

Stretching for lower back pain specifically targets soft tissues, such as muscles, ligaments and tendons, found in the back and around the spine. By stretching, the spine and soft tissues are mobilized, increasing motion and thus, relieving pain.

There are many kinds of stretching exercises employed by physical therapists. One is the Hamstring Stretching Exercise which works to relax tight hamstrings, a common symptom of lower back pain. This exercise is said to help decrease the intensity of lower back pain among sufferers.

-Strengthening

Physical therapists generally use two forms of strengthening and back pain relief exercises, usually depending on the specific condition of the patient. These are the McKenzie exercises and dynamic lumbar stabilization exercises. However, the two forms of strengthening exercises may also be combined should the therapist find it appropriate to do so.

-McKenzie Exercises

Named after a physical therapist in New Zealand, McKenzie exercises are primarily extension exercises that could help reduce pain generated from the disc space and also may help reduce the symptoms of herniated disc by reducing pressure on a nerve root.

For acute pain, the McKenzie exercises should be done frequently, at least once every two hours. In addition, patients are advised to avoid flexing their spine when exercising.

-Dynamic Lumbar Stabilization Exercises

Using this back exercise technique, the first thing that a physical therapist does is to look for the patient’s “neutral” spine. This refers to the position that allows the patient to feel the most comfortable.

Afterwards, when the patient is in that position, the back muscles are then exercised in order to “teach” the spine how to stay in this position.

Performing these exercises on a regular basis can help strengthen the back muscles and keep the spine well-positioned.

Low Impact Aerobic Exercises

The purpose of low impact aerobic exercise is to recondition the back. Patients who undergo reconditioning of the back through low impact aerobic exercise will have fewer episodes of lower back pain.

In addition, whenever an episode of lower back pain does occur, the pain is less intense and lasts only for a short period.

Another benefit of low impact aerobic exercise is that patients tend to stay functional that is, they can continue with their regular work and carry on with recreational activities. In contrast, patients who do not undergo low impact aerobic exercises typically experience the gradual loss of their functional abilities.

For low impact aerobic exercises to achieve their desired results, they should be continuous. This will increase the heart rate and keep it elevated as well as increase the production of endorphins, which are pain fighting hormones released by the body.

Here are some examples of low impact aerobic exercises that you may want to try in order to lessen or reduce lower back pain:

-Walking

One of the simplest forms of aerobic exercises, walking is generally considered as very gentle on the back. To get the maximum benefit from walking as a form of low impact aerobic exercise, walk two to three miles three times per week.

-Stationary Bicycling

This form of aerobic exercise is less painful on the back since there is lower impact produced. This is beneficial for patients with lower back pain who may find walking too painful.

-Water Therapy

Sometimes referred to as aquatherapy, water therapy is simply doing exercise in the water. The buoyancy works to provide effective conditioning at the same time stress on the back is reduced.

Nishanth Reddy
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/physical-therapy-for-the-lower-back-how-to-prevent-and-treat-lower-back-pain-69184.html

Brought to you by Physical Therapy Roswell

Physical therapy, just on a very surface level could be considered an alternative type or natural treatment for certain conditions like back pain. Unlike aromatherapy, herbal remedies etc, physical therapy has been recognized as a legitimate treatment for many physical or bodily problems resulting from disease, accidents and other things that can affect our life.

It is different from Occupational therapy. Occupational therapists treat people who are considered to have much more permanent physical or developmental problems. The physical therapist however may be considered a shorter term solution for people in need of temporary assistance and treatments.

Much of the established medical community recognizes the benefits of physical therapy. Physical therapy is essentially the use of exercises and activities to help condition parts of the body. Through specialized activities, the part of the body being worked with gains, strength, coordination, conditioning, and movement.

Physical therapy is now considered an important part of most treatments for injuries or physical disorders. Exercises are designed to help patients gain the as much of the full range of motion as possible. This means that physical therapy is usually a lot of exhaustive work for the patients.

The appointments with the physical therapist is only part of the work that needs done however. The therapist will typically offer a daily exercise regimen and suggest other ways to help with your rehabilitation. They will often spend the time necessary through demonstration and teaching patients how to get the maximum benefit from those exercises.

By following their direction, patients can expect over time to improve their health and gain additional functionality of the problem area.

Many doctors who treat pain will also actively use physical therapists to assist with relieving a painful condition depending on the reason for the problem. Therapists are not just physical education instructors but are skilled in helping patients recover the greatest amount of functionality possible.

Physical therapy plays a critical role in helping in the development of children with physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy and many other conditions. This work may include years of effort to gain just a few precious benefits for the child but it’s one of the benefits of becoming a physical therapist.

Therapists work to help maintain or improve the use of bones, muscles and joints through their specialized treatments and efforts. They are licensed professional who have done wonders with children and adults of all ages. As our society ages, physical therapy as a career will become increasingly more important.

Abigail Franks
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/can-physical-therapy-help-heal-56655.html

Brought to you by Physical Therapy Roswell

A car accident can have a devastating effect on your life and the after affects are not only financially devastating, but physically as well. This is often times why it is very necessary to seek the attention of a physical therapist shortly after an accident. The longer you delay treatment, the harder it may be to get back to normal.

A physical therapist will also have access to physical therapy equipment that could very well speed healing.

There are many types of injuries that can occur as the result of an accident and the type of remedy you receive can depend on the severity of the injuries and/or where that injury is located.

Brain Injury – people who have suffered from a brain injury will often need the assistance of neurological therapists. This specialist has a cache of physical therapy supplies that are geared to help you resume normal activities and function after a prolonged stay in the hospital.

Even those who have sustained severe injures may benefit from the attention of a hands on therapists. Of course, there are those individuals who may beyond even the healing touch of these professionals – again, the type of medical methodology will depend on the extent of the injuries.

Spinal cord injury – A two pronged therapeutic approach may be needed for a person who has suffered a spinal cord injury.

While a physical therapist that specializes in neurological problems will rehabilitate someone who has suffered immobility or paralysis due to this injury, an orthopedic therapist can look into the vertebrae of the spine itself to see if any resulting damage can be corrected or resolved. Often, spinal injury involves injury to the cord as well as the destruction or misalignment of the skeletal structure of the spine.

The practitioners joint physical therapy supplies and regimens are joined to increase the odds of the patients rebound to health or mobility and independence.

Orthopedic injury – sports injuries, fractures, and sprains are often the domain of orthopedic physical therapists. Tackling degenerative ailments of the bones and joints, like arthritis as well as serious breaks, the physical therapy equipment that these individuals have access to will get you back into shape after an auto accident.

Massage therapy

Massage therapy is not a mere relaxation tool, it can in fact, clear up the lymphatic system to get rid of toxins that are stored in the body after a trauma. These stored toxins can wreak havoc, decreasing the ability to heal.

A great massage opens up the blood circulation and allows the lymphatic system to release a clear fluid that cleans out the tissues of the body.

Although you can come to the rehabilitation center for a therapy session, many masseuses will bring their massage therapy supplies to your home. This can be of particular advantage to individuals who have a hard time getting around due to their injuries.

Once the therapist has their massage therapy supplies out and ready for use, they can begin deep tissue massages that will free up trapped fluids and clean out the system. When done, the therapist takes their portable massage therapy equipment apart and leaves you to enjoy the wonderful health benefits that can be gleaned from their services.

Almost all of these therapists may utilize specialized physical therapy equipment like the electronic muscle stimulator, a device that helps to make the muscle contact. This helps relive stress, alleviate pain, increase blood circulation and keep muscles functioning properly.

A car accident can leave you feeling as if you are lost in limbo, but no matter what your personal injury is, a physical therapist can help you regain some semblance of the life you once lead.

Amy Nutt
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/physical-therapy-after-a-car-accident-725340.html

Brought to you by Physical Therapy Roswell

Physical therapy is a broad sphere of medical practice that encompasses many needs and scenarios.

Simply put, a physical therapist provides the service to the patient of helping him or her achieve, maintain, or restore maximum movement and functional ability.

The patient and why they need physical therapy can be as vast as medicine itself. The old and infirm need assistance in maintaining movement. The injured need therapy to recover movement.

Those born with a physical or neurological handicap need therapy to develop movement.

Just some of the conditions which a physical therapist may help with include: back and neck pain, spinal and joint conditions such as arthritis, biomechanical problems and muscular control, problems affecting children such as cerebral palsy and spina bifida, heart and lung conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia, sport-related injuries, stress incontinence, and neurological conditions such as stroke and multiple sclerosis.

Physical therapists usually specialize in a specific field. Just like a doctor, a physical therapist is a certified expert – in the United States requiring four years of college with an eye towards the specialty.

Not many people realize this, because to watch a physical therapist work, you might at frst mistake them for a coach or a counselor.

In fact, coaching and counseling are a great deal of what physical therapy is all about.

Physical therapists work in a very active role with the patient, guiding them through exercises designed to help build the patient’s mobility. They may be working on the track or the gym with a sports injury case, in a hospital coaxing a stroke survivor to take their first few steps with a walker, or in a swimming pool using the water’s buoyancy to help a recovering accident victim with a fractured pelvis to learn to walk again.

History

Physical therapy as a recognized profession goes all the way back to ancient China, though in that point in history it was more like a massage business.

Physical therapists came into their first mass use in World War two, when soldiers coming home with spinal injuries provided new challenges to the profession.

Orthopedic hospitals and chest clinics for veterans soon sprang up, with physical therapists running the show.

In many countries, the profession of physical therapy has grown to become the largest allied health profession, in third place only behind medicine and nursing in the number of graduating health care students.

Working with disabled children

Children are born with a mobility problem for many reasons. For just one example, there’s cerebral palsy. A baby born with cerebral palsy has a very good chance of being able to partially recover by the time of adulthood. This is due to the brain’s ability to patch itself by growing new neurons. But in order for those neurons to form in the first place, the child must have stimulus.

They say that riding a bike is something that once you learn how, you never forget. This actually applies to all mobile activities. Anything from crawling to surfing is a learned set of muscular co-ordination reflexes, and to develop them, we have to practice. Once the brain has learned how to guide the body through a set of motions, new pathways of neurons are formed in the brain to record the learned behavior.

The act of learning an activity is actually one of providing physical stimulation to the body, which in turn is used by the brain as raw material to build a learned behavior from.

A physical therapist working with a disabled child who cannot crawl, for instance, may start by placing the child on his belly on a soft inflated ball. With just the feet and hands touching the floor and without the necessity to support the bodies entire weight on the limbs yet, the child can move themselves around on the ball by pushing against the floor with their hands and feet.

Later the ball might be replaced with a padded board on wheels. Just like training wheels on a bike, the motion is practiced in gradual steps until the child can both develop the muscle tone and learn the gross motor skills necessary to carry out the task.

Water walking

Similarly, an older patient with a mobility problem due to a recent injury or stroke might need to teach their body how to walk again. By suspending their body in a shallow pool with a floatation vest on, they can walk around on the surface of the pool bottom and their body’s weight is mostly carried by the water. In this way the legs and feet can rebuild muscle tone and the brain can learn to remap those neurons that may have been damaged or forgotten.

Tai Chi and Pilates

Tai Chi, a “soft” Chinese martial art, has made some popular gains in senior patrons of physical therapists. The gentle, graceful movements and slow pacing are a deliberate effort to force the body and mind to focus on it’s mobility.

As opposed to the “training wheels” model, this is more of a “slow and steady” model, but even those the Tai Chi class may look like slow-motion aerobics, the benefits are staggering.

Researchers have found that long-term Tai Chi practice had favorable effects on the skills of balance control, flexibility and cardiovascular fitness and helped reduce the risk of falls in elders.

The studies also reported reduced pain, stress and anxiety in healthy subjects who took Tai Chi. Other studies have indicated improved cardiovascular and respiratory function in healthy subjects along with those who had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery.

Pilates is an exercise regimen with very different roots in Europe and America instead of the Far East, but with similar goals in mind. The inventor of this exercise named it “Contrology”, which refers to the way the method encourages the use of the mind to control the muscles. I

t is an exercise program that focuses on the core postural muscles that help keep the body balanced and are essential to providing support for the delicate muscles of the spine. In particular, Pilates teaches an awareness of breath and alignment of the spine, and strengthens the deep torso muscles which are important to help alleviate and prevent back pain.

There’s more to physical therapy than meets the mind. Indeed, the benefit is mostly applied in the mind, although physical therapists speak almost as if the body had a mind of it’s own, which the brain merely oversees.

In a way, a physical therapist can be seen as a “brain programmer” – or re-programmer! No matter what your course of medical treatment in life, you’re almost bound to require the services of a physical therapist at one point or another in your life.

Josh Stone
http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/all-about-physical-therapists-72625.html

Brought to you by Physical Therapy Roswell

The procedures of physical therapy are diverse. Physical therapy combines a variety of methods and techniques. Yet all in all, the process would include lifestyle change, external stimulation, use of assisting devices, and of course the therapeutic exercise.

Appointing yourself with physical therapy exercises gets you in the hub of physical wellness. Whether to decrease pain or increase movement and function, various physical therapy exercises tender different types of body training that will improve any patient’s physical condition.

As the heart of any physical therapy program, whether clinical or home care, physical therapy exercises shall keep you moving. Plus points with the physical therapy exercises has been earning scores since studies realized that keeping an overworked or injured muscle immobilized to ‘rest’ is a bad idea.

In contrast, continuous physical therapy exercises shall assure a patient’s vital recovery. In most cases, failure to use the muscles surrounding an injury or illness can lead to permanent weakness a big no-no for physical therapy.

Physical therapy exercises are intended to restore strength and endurance, increase range of movement, and also improve balance and coordination. And to increase these effectiveness, physical therapists also use the physical therapy exercises treatment along with external stimulations such as heat, coldness, ultrasound, electricity, infrared or UV light, traction, water, and massage. All are applied externally to a specific area, or internally, in order to relieve pain or reducing swelling.

Another factor to assure the success of the exercise methods is to do it right. As long as properly prescribed, physical therapy exercises are the most effective method for healing sports or accident injuries or restoring basic functions.

Another key is to do enough exercises. Physical therapy exercises performed during office visits alone is inadequate. For quick recovery, physical therapists also teach patients how to exercise at home. Here are some examples of home physical therapy exercises:

Sitting Stretch:

Sit on the floor with a towel around one of your outstretched foot (or around the one bent knee). Pull the foot towards your body (or the knee upwards) to feel the stretch. Hold for some seconds. Do alternately, and repetitively and at particular number of times per day.

Standing Wall Push:

Position your body against/ facing a wall with one foot behind slightly lunging. Hold the heel down while gently pushing your hands towards the wall to feel the stretch. Hold for some seconds. Do alternately, and repetitively and at particular number of times per day.

Tightening Legs Over a Ball:

With one knee bent over a ball, straighten the knee by trying to tighten the muscle on your upper thigh. Be sure to keep the bottom of your knee on the ball. Hold for some seconds. Do alternately, and repetitively and at particular number of times per day.

You should note that the repetitions and frequency of the exercises are increased progressively according to the exercise plan or as directed by your PT. Good luck!

Milos
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/physical-therapy-exercises-70179.html

Brought to you by Physical Therapy Roswell

Physical therapy, just on a very surface level could be considered an alternative type or natural treatment for certain conditions like back pain.

Unlike aromatherapy, herbal remedies etc, physical therapy has been recognized as a legitimate treatment for many physical or bodily problems resulting from disease, accidents and other things that can affect our life.

It is different from Occupational therapy. Occupational therapists treat people who are considered to have much more permanent physical or developmental problems. The physical therapist however may be considered a shorter term solution for people in need of temporary assistance and treatments.

Much of the established medical community recognizes the benefits of physical therapy. Physical therapy is essentially the use of exercises and activities to help condition parts of the body. Through specialized activities, the part of the body being worked with gains, strength, coordination, conditioning, and movement.

Physical therapy is now considered an important part of most treatments for injuries or physical disorders. Exercises are designed to help patients gain the as much of the full range of motion as possible. This means that physical therapy is usually a lot of exhaustive work for the patients.

The appointments with the physical therapist is only part of the work that needs done however. The therapist will typically offer a daily exercise regimen and suggest other ways to help with your rehabilitation. They will often spend the time necessary through demonstration and teaching patients how to get the maximum benefit from those exercises. By following their direction, patients can expect over time to improve their health and gain additional functionality of the problem area.

Many doctors who treat pain will also actively use physical therapists to assist with relieving a painful condition depending on the reason for the problem. Therapists are not just physical education instructors but are skilled in helping patients recover the greatest amount of functionality possible.

Physical therapy plays a critical role in helping in the development of children with physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy and many other conditions. This work may include years of effort to gain just a few precious benefits for the child but it’s one of the benefits of becoming a physical therapist.

Therapists work to help maintain or improve the use of bones, muscles and joints through their specialized treatments and efforts. They are licensed professional who have done wonders with children and adults of all ages. As our society ages, physical therapy as a career will become increasingly more important.

Abigail Franks
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/can-physical-therapy-help-heal-56655.html

Brought to you by Physical Therapy Roswell

About the Video:
Physical rehabilitation plays an important role in helping people recover from spinal cord injuries, stroke, and orthopaedic injuries. There are some new approaches to this type of medicine that are helping people regain function and have a better quality of life.

In part one of this two-part interview with Ellen Beth Levitt, Dr. Peter Gorman discusses a variety of topics pertaining to rehabilitation medicine. Some of these topics include:

• Goals of rehabilitation
• Physical therapy/occupational therapy
• Connection between neurology and rehabilitation
• Robotic training and research for rehabilitation
• Stroke rehab using treadmills and robotic hand device
• Electrical stimulation and rehabilitation

About the Expert:

Dr. Peter Gorman is the chief of Rehabilitation Medicine at Kernan Hospital. He is also an associate professor of Neurology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Related Links:

Dr. Peter Gorman
http://www.umm.edu/doctors/peter_h_gorman.html

Rehabilitation Medicine (Part 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAFJ_VwDMKA

UMMC Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery
http://www.umm.edu/neurosciences/index.htm

UMMC Center for Neurorehabilitation
http://www.umm.edu/postacute/neuro_rehab.htm

Overview: Rehabilitation
http://www.umm.edu/neurosciences/rehabilitation.htm

Distributed by Tubemogul.

Duration : 0:13:29

Brought to you by Physical Therapy Roswell

Physical therapists help you restore and improve motion to achieve long-term quality of life. That’s the brand promise of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and its member physical therapists.

Learn how a physical therapist can help you regain the motion you need for everyday life and avoid expensive and painful surgery and the side effects of medication.

Duration : 0:2:22

Brought to you by Physical Therapy Roswell