Chronic lower back pain is a prevalent condition that may occur due to injury, diseases, and other underlying conditions. About four in five people will experience lower back pain at some point. However, this condition usually gets better on its own with time. Whenever lower back pain persists for over a week or comes and goes for a long period, it is considered chronic lower back pain and requires urgent care.
This article will examine the importance of urgent care and the benefits of physical therapy for chronic lower back pain at FYZICAL South Scottsdale.
Causes of Chronic Lower Back Pain
Several factors may cause you to experience chronic lower back pain. Some of these may include:
Injuries
You may injure your back due to sudden movements or direct blows to the back from playing sports, falls, and traumatic events like motor accidents. These injuries may destroy the back’s structure, leading to pain. Examples of back injuries that may cause chronic lower back pain include:
- Sprains and strains: These are injuries affecting the body’s connective tissues. You may sprain your back if the ligaments (fibrous tissues connecting the bones and joints) are stretched too far or torn due to overuse, improper lifting and bending techniques, and other factors. On the other hand, a strain occurs when the tendons (tissues that attach muscles to bone) are stretched beyond their capacity. If you strain or sprain your back, you may experience chronic lower back pain.
- Bulging disc: The spine is filled with spinal discs (vertebrae) that act as shock absorbers between each bone. However, these spinal discs may rupture or bulge out of their normal positions if you suffer a back injury. Bulging spinal discs in the lumbar region may press against the surrounding nerves, causing chronic lower back pain. These spinal discs may also be affected by degenerative disc diseases.
- Fractures: Spinal fractures occur when there are breaks or cracks in the bones that make up the vertebrae. Traumatic events like accidents, falls, and medical conditions like osteoporosis can cause spinal fractures. If you suffer a spinal fracture, you may experience chronic lower back pain.
Mechanical and Structural Factors
These refer to abnormalities or problems with the spine, discs, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and other structures that make up the back. Conditions that alter the back’s structures may cause chronic lower back pain. Examples of mechanical/structural factors that cause chronic lower back pain include:
- Scoliosis: This condition is a spinal deformity that causes a sideways curvature of the spine. Scoliosis alters the spine’s structure and may cause pressure and irritate the nerves around the spine. The structural changes of the spine due to scoliosis may cause chronic lower back pain.
- Spinal stenosis is an age-related condition that commonly affects the neck and lower back. It causes the spaces around the spinal cord to become excessively narrow due to wear and tear. This condition irritates the spinal cord and other nerves in the spine, leading to lower back pain.
Medical Conditions
These refer to underlying medical conditions resulting from aging, genetics, and other factors that cause pain in the lower back. Common examples of medical conditions that cause chronic lower back pain include:
- Arthritis: This is a degenerative condition that causes inflammation in the joints. Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis likely to affect the lower back. This condition occurs through wear and tear, breaking down the cartilage between the joints in the back. Osteoarthritis leads to chronic lower back pain.
- Fibromyalgia is characterized by disorders that cause widespread musculoskeletal pain in the body, and chronic back pain is one of the most common symptoms of fibromyalgia.
Other medical conditions that may lead to chronic lower back pain include ankylosing spondylitis, spinal infections, cancer, etc.
Lifestyle and Environmental Factors
You may experience chronic lower back pain due to your lifestyle choices and other external factors. Examples of lifestyle factors that cause chronic lower back pain include:
- Poor posture: Maintaining a poor posture may increase mechanical stress in the lumbar region, causing severe pain in the lower back.
- Obesity is a chronic complex disease caused by excessive fat deposits. The excess weight strains the back muscles and ligaments, causing pain in the lower back.
- Sedentary lifestyle: If you lack enough physical activities in your daily life, your lower back muscles may weaken, contributing to lower back pain.
Other factors that increase your risk of developing chronic lower back pain include smoking, workplace demands, genetics, exposure to stress, etc.
Physical Therapy for Chronic Lower Back Pain
Even when other methods fail, physical therapy in Scottsdale proves to be an effective option in treating and managing musculoskeletal pain. Unlike other treatment methods like surgery, physical therapy is noninvasive. Therefore, this treatment option drastically reduces the risks of complications while providing an effective way to get rid of chronic lower back pain.
Back pain therapy in Scottsdale employs manual therapy, therapeutic exercises, pain management modalities, and several other physical therapy techniques to ensure that chronic lower back pain is a thing of the past. This treatment aims to eradicate the symptoms of lower back pain, improve back function, and rehabilitate you so that you can live a normal life and comfortably perform your activities of daily living.
5 Key Benefits of Physical Therapy for Chronic Lower Back Pain
The following are the major benefits of back pain relief in Scottsdale, AZ:
Pain Relief and Management
Severe pain and discomfort are the most common symptoms of chronic lower back pain. Therefore, relieving the discomfort accompanying chronic lower back pain is physical therapy’s first call of duty. Physical therapy employs different techniques to reduce and manage chronic pain and discomfort. Manual therapy, therapeutic exercises, heat and cold therapy, ultrasound therapy, electrical stimulation, etc are physical therapy’s pain management techniques.
Improved Mobility and Physical Function
Walking and other movement activities engage the muscles and ligaments surrounding the lower back. Therefore, if you are suffering from chronic lower back pain, your mobility may be restricted due to the worsened pain you may feel when you move. Chronic lower back pain may also impact your physical function, affecting your ability to perform basic activities of daily living. Therefore, physical therapy employs therapeutic exercises and postural training to restore your function and movement.
Eliminates the Need for Surgery
Surgery is a highly invasive treatment option that requires a long time for recovery and restoration of mobility and function. Surgery is also risky and may result in severe complications. However, physical therapy provides a non-invasive yet effective method to deal with lower back pain without exposing you to unnecessary risks.
Personalized Treatment Plans
Physical therapy in South Scottsdale offers uniquely tailored treatment plans that meet your needs and treatment goals. Before developing a treatment plan, a physical therapist will comprehensively assess your condition to determine the underlying causes of chronic lower back pain. Your treatment plan is customized according to the initial assessment results and regular adjustments are made as and when due.
Prevention of Future Injuries
While addressing the underlying causes of your chronic lower back pain, physical therapy also strengthens your back muscles to significantly reduce your risks of injuring your lower back in the future. Physical therapists develop home exercise programs, educate patients, and perform periodic checkups to ensure their patients’ safety from back injuries and other conditions.
Conclusion
Chronic lower back pain significantly reduces your quality of life; however, you do not have to live through the horrors of chronic lower back pain, all thanks to the numerous benefits physical therapy offers. If you are suffering from chronic lower back pain, you should consider undergoing physical therapy at FYZICAL South Scottsdale.
