Category: Back and Neck Pain

Physical Therapy Clinic in West BloomfieldBlogBack and Neck Pain
By manish 0 Comments Back and Neck Pain, Health and Wellness, Physical Therapy

Suffering with Back Pain? Check Your Posture!

If you are like most people, you have had someone tell you to sit or stand up straight — probably during your teenage years. At the time, the demand was probably annoying and one you did your best to ignore. But it turns out that good posture is important for more than just looking confident and respectable. Sitting and standing with good spinal alignment can help prevent back pain.

One major focus of physical therapy is to teach patients how to practice good posture. Your physical therapist can help you understand the importance of posture and give you valuable training to help you achieve it, day in and day out.

Let Premier Therapy Centers help you discover the benefits of physical therapy for back pain. Please contact us today to schedule an appointment with a physical therapist!

Good Posture — What It Does to Relieve Back Pain

Your spine is designed to operate in a certain way. When you move, sit and stand in ways that disrupt the correct operation of your spine, you can create problems over time. Practicing good posture — with the help of your physical therapist — is one way that can work with your spine to minimize back pain.

When you are in physical therapy, you will learn good posture and discover several ways in which the healthy movement patterns taught by your physical therapist will minimize your back pain. These include:

Avoid Undesirable Anatomical Changes

The ways that you use your spine can actually cause changes in your anatomy. The stress caused by sitting hunched can eventually lead to damage of your spinal discs, muscles, joints and the nerves and blood vessels traveling through your spine. Many times the damage can be reversed, though, if you engage in targeted physical therapy and learn to sit and stand correctly from your physical therapist.

Promote Good Circulation

When you maintain proper spinal alignment, your veins are not constricted by the press of your vertebrae. All of the numerous components of your spine require good circulation to operate correctly and to regenerate from damage and wear and tear.

When your physical therapist guides you through the different physical therapy exercises that help with posture, you will get better at keeping the alignment required for optimal circulation.

Encourage Strength and Flexibility

If it has been a while since you have regularly had good posture, chances are that trying to maintain such posture over a long period will be difficult. It may take some time in physical therapy to gain the strength and flexibility necessary to keep the ideal posture.

Fortunately, the work you do with your physical therapist to achieve your goal will lead to greater overall fitness. The stronger and more flexible you get, the less likely you are to suffer from back pain on a regular basis.

Improved Posture in all Activities

Most people think of posture in static positions, like sitting at a desk or standing for a period of time. But good posture is important in everything that we do.

In physical therapy, your physical therapist can instruct you on how to maintain good posture during all of your favorite activities, such as running, playing sports, and walking. The improved posture you adopt in each activity will lessen the wear and tear you put on your spine, which minimizes the risk of developing back pain from these activities.

Prevent Back Pain Caused by Improper Lifting

Good posture is a vital component of lifting objects without injury. When you lift and fail to use good posture, there is a much greater chance that you will wind up hurting your back.

Ask your physical therapist about proper lifting posture. He or she can show you how to lift correctly and guide you through some exercises to clarify the right posture.

Help With Your Back Pain

If you are suffering from back pain, please call one of our two MI physical therapy offices. Our physical therapy team can help you get the relief you deserve!

By manish 0 Comments Back and Neck Pain, Health and Wellness, Physical Therapy

Did You Know That a Herniated Disc Can Cause You Serious Back Pain?

One of the most common reasons people visit our physical therapist each day is to get relief from chronic back pain. While back pain can be caused by a variety of medical conditions, in many cases, it is the result of a herniated disc. Herniated discs can occur anywhere along the spine but typically affect the lower back area. Physical therapy patients may also be familiar with other terms used to describe a herniated disc including a ruptured disc, bulging disc, or protruding disc, but the treatment for the condition is the same. It is estimated that about 60 to 80 percent of people will experience some level of lower back pain in their lives, and many may experience the issue due to a herniated disc. While they can be very painful, with the help of our experienced physical therapists at Premier Therapy Centers, patients of all ages can find fast relief and learn to manage their pain with regular physical therapy appointments.

Ask Our Physical Therapist: What Causes a Herniated Disc to Develop?

Spinal discs are soft and rubbery pads, designed to work as shock absorbers, located between the bony vertebrae that help make up the spinal column. Made of a thick outer ring of cartilage and an inner gel-like substance, spinal discs work to allow the back to bend with ease. Additionally, your spinal column helps protect delicate nerves and your spinal cord. If the cartilage in your spinal disc somehow tears or develops a defect, the gel-like substance or nucleus can breakthrough. This bulging or herniation can then put pressure on the nerves, resulting in intense pain. In fact, even small amounts of pressure on your spinal nerves can cause weakness, numbness, and pain.

Herniated discs in the lower back can be particularly painful because they put pressure on the sciatic nerve, resulting in sciatica. The sciatic nerve is actually made up of several spinal nerve branches that travel from the spine and down into the leg. If the sciatic nerve becomes pinched, pain can radiate from the buttocks area, down throughout the back of the leg, and into the shin and foot. Luckily, physical therapy can work to reduce the pain caused by the condition.

When you are young, your spinal discs have a high water content level, made up of almost 80 percent water. However, as you age, the water content in your spinal discs lowers. This causes the discs to become less pliable and increases the risk of tears or other defects. Some of the other common causes of herniated discs include:

  • Excessive body weight or obesity
  • Traumatic injury
  • High-impact sports
  • Repetitive twisting movements (workplace injuries)
  • Heavy or incorrect lifting

Common Symptoms of a Herniated Disc

Symptoms associated with a herniated disc may vary depending on where the injured disc is located. Some of the most common symptoms you may experience include:

  • Pain when bending or twisting
  • Burning, numbness, or tingling in the back, buttock, legs, and/or feet.
  • Weakness in the legs
  • Pain that intensifies when sitting, coughing, sneezing, or bending

If you think you may have a herniated disc or other back pain issues, physical therapy can help. We recommend scheduling a consultation with our physical therapist as soon as possible.

How Can Physical Therapy Help Lower Back Pain?

Physical therapy is a safe and non-invasive pain treatment option designed to help patients of all ages heal from the inside out. By using targeted physical therapy treatments, our skilled physical therapist can work to relieve back pain and reduce inflammation, stimulate blood flow, and restore your range of motion.

Call our physical therapy Commerce Township MI or West Bloomfield Township MI offices today to learn more and schedule an appointment with our knowledgeable and highly skilled physical therapist.

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By manish 0 Comments Back and Neck Pain, Back Pain, Health and Wellness, Physical Therapy

Why Low Back Pain May Not Go Away

Causes of Low Back Pain & How Physical Therapy Can Help

Lower back pain is one of the most common reasons people cite for making an appointment with a physical therapist. Most people suffer from lower back pain to varying degrees at some point in their lives. Sometimes, lower back pain is more of an annoyance than anything else, but when lower back pain becomes severe, it can be seriously debilitating and prevent you from living your life. Typically, the sooner you seek treatment for lower back pain, the sooner you can find lasting relief.

Common Causes of Lower Back Pain

There are numerous potential causes for lower back pain. These days, poor posture and alignment of the spine is becoming an increasingly common cause—likely due to the fact that more people work in sedentary desk jobs than ever before. Without the proper lumbar support from an ergonomic desk chair, lower back pain can quickly occur as a result of poor posture and limited movement of the spinal joints throughout the day. Even those who are on their feet most of the day can suffer from lower back pain due to poor spinal and abdominal muscle support and lack of proper coordination of the spinal muscles.

While lower back pain cannot always be prevented, it is possible to reduce your risk of lower back injuries and pain by making sure your back is well supported with proper posture throughout the day. For desk workers, this could mean investing in an ergonomic desk chair. For others, it may mean purchasing a quality pair of athletic shoes that will provide the proper level of foot and back support throughout the day.

Physical Therapy for Back Pain Relief

The good news is that if you’re suffering from lower back pain, physical therapy may be able to help. Seeking physical therapy as treatment for your lower back pain is always recommended before you decide to start taking any prescription medications. After all, anti-inflammatory and other medication may relieve your back pain in the short-term, but can also lead to long-term side effects. With physical therapy, you can enjoy a non-invasive and drug-free approach to long-term back pain relief. And physical therapy should always be attempted before taking any drastic measures, such as having back surgery done.

There are two common forms of physical therapy used for the treatment of lower back pain. These are passive and active physical therapy, and they differ greatly in their techniques and methods.

Passive physical therapy relies on techniques performed directly on the patient. This can include anything from applying heat or ice packs to the affected area or even stimulating the area with controlled electricity. Other modalities used here may include ultrasonography, TENS units, and iontophoresis.

Active physical therapy, on the other hand, refers to steps the patient will take (as instructed by a physical therapist) to treat and reduce lower back pain. Typically, this comes in the form of different exercises and stretches that are designed to reduce lower back pain and minimize future flare-ups as well. Some common examples of active physical therapy may include low-impact aerobic conditioning and back strengthening exercises. These can be done in your physical therapist’s office or at home, depending on your specific needs.

Overall, physiotherapy can be a great option for treating just about any level of lower back pain. Through a combination of active and passive physical therapy, you can work towards reducing your pain and increasing your lower back strength to avoid future problems. Contact Premier Therapy Centers to find out more about how we can help you overcome lower back pain.