If you’re on the fence regarding how to relieve your back pain, you should seek less drastic measures rather than resort to surgery. However, your doctor may strongly recommend back surgery if he feels that there are no other options to help you. But the million dollar question is … have you exhausted all your non-surgical options? Check out this article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It discusses a non-surgical option for your back pain … physical therapy.
Physical therapy offers success for pain in spine, too, Pitt study says
When it comes to treating lumbar spinal stenosis in the lower back area, physical therapy can be as effective as surgery, a University of Pittsburgh study has found.
And it might be the best option to try first. That was Dale Urban’s thinking at age 78.
The Mt. Lebanon man said pain progressively worsens whenever he walks 50 to 100 yards or does dishes.
‘Toward the bottom end of the spinal area is where I feel increasing pain that goes from zero to 100,’ he said. ‘I feel the intensity rising. I sit down and the pain goes away.’
His physical therapy includes riding a stationary bicycle, physical manipulation of his lower spine and assigned exercises he does at home.
‘The first experience is, you get relief from the treatment, but it’s temporary relief right now,’ Mr. Urban said, after four of 12 sessions. ‘I’m hoping for long-term relief after I undergo all the treatments and modulations.’
The University of Pittsburgh study, published online Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found nearly equal success between physical therapy and decompression surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis, a degenerative condition that commonly occurs as people age.”
The article from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discussed about treating lumbar spinal stenosis, a condition caused by the compression of the nerve roots in the spine in the lower back. Symptoms associated with this condition are low back pain, sciatica, and possible mobility issues. In a nutshell, the article suggested the use of physical therapy as means to back pain relief, rather than consenting to surgery as the initial step. Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of physical therapy is the potentially expensive insurance co-pays, or worse yet, if it’s not even covered in your medical insurance policy at all! But like the article mentioned, physical therapy can be just as effective as surgery in the treatment of back pain.
