Death and taxes are said to be the two certainties in life for adults, but Ben Franklin may have added low back pain given its’ current prevalence. Up to 90% of adults will report an episode of low back pain during their lifetimes. Fortunately, the vast majority of these episodes are not secondary to any...
The evidence and momentum continue to build for seeing a Physical Therapist first for patients with low back pain. Physical Therapists have continually been shown to be clinically and cost effective providers for low back pain conditions. This approach, direct access to Physical Therapy, has been utilized by large hospital systems and Fortune 500 companies...
In the absence of rare spine pathology the only abnormal low back MRI is a normal MRI. After age 30 many of our spines will age and positive findings will become more common in patients with and without back pain. MRIs have tremendous sensitivity and can find even the smallest amount of pathology, but their...
Death, taxes, and low back pain are three of the certainties of life with over 90% of individuals reporting low back pain at some point in their lives. Our previous posts have described the ability of Physical Therapy to both accelerate a patient’s recovery from low back pain and reduce its’ risk of recurrence. A...
Physical Therapy is an excellent choice for low back pain with numerous research articles supporting its’ ability to rapidly reduce pain and disability. Many interventions utilized in our Boulder Physical Therapy practice, including manipulation and exercise, are designed to prevent low back pain symptoms from being chronic or recurrent. An interesting article was published identifying factors...
There is a current, albeit unproven, thought about the dangers of repetitive spinal flexion. Those who repeat this unfounded belief feel repetitive forward bending places the spine in a less than optimal position leading to back pain or injury. These thoughts have been disproven by the research and forward bending of the spine does not...
The Journal of the American Medical Association recently reviewed the evidence on the utilization of spinal manipulation for patients with acute back pain. Authors reported moderate evidence to support its’ use to both decrease pain and improve function. The majority of research on spinal manipulation is currently being performed by Physical Therapists to determine best...
Previous research has shown an improvement and regression of lumbar disc injuries with conservative treatments including Physical Therapy. Based on clinical practice guidelines and the available evidence, few patients with back and leg pain require surgical interventions for a lumbar disc injury. Many who pursue surgical intervention seek relief of their associated leg symptoms, but until...
In our Boulder Physical Therapy practice, individualized, progressive exercise is an essential part of each patient’s recovery. Teaching correct exercise technique often requires both tactile and verbal cues. Specifically in the lower body we cue to both improve the relative motions at the spine and hips to optimize movements for pain reduction, strength development, and...
In previous blog posts, we have described the clinical and financial benefits of seeing a Physical Therapist first for treatment of neck or low back pain. Patients who choose Physical Therapy first experience accelerated recoveries with decreased pain and recurrence rates compared to other providers. In addition to the clinical benefits, this patient group is...