Conservative Therapy for Back Pain

Since back pain is often influenced by problems elsewhere in the musculoskeletal system, we’ll determine the root cause and devise an individualized treatment plan that both relieves the pain and addresses the contributing factors.

First Visit

Your initial visit of 45-to-60 minutes will include a health history, an exam, evaluation, and some treatment.

The first step is to get a thorough history of your back pain. Has your back just been hurting and getting progressively worse over time, or was it triggered by some kind of event or injury?  

Back pain is often driven by the spine trying to compensate for deficiencies in other areas of the body. A golfer with limited hip rotation, for example, will compensate with more back rotation, causing lower back pain. Someone with poor posture may excessively arch their lower back to sit up taller, causing lower back pain. We’ll put you through a full movement screening and examination to see how you move and determine what movements hurt and what seemingly unrelated influences may be impacting your spine/back health.

Next Steps

Once the root cause or stressors have been identified, we’ll work with you to relieve the pain and fix the dysfunction that is causing the problem. This is where the expertise of our therapists comes into play; your therapist will modify your movements to help eliminate the pain, and recommend exercises that are appropriate for your diagnosis and goals.

Your therapist will work with you in our outpatient clinic 1-to-2 times a week. You will also get a home exercise program, which will increase in complexity as your rehabilitation progresses.

Why EvergreenHealth Rehabilitation Services?

While you can find suggestions and exercises to relieve back pain in health magazines and on the Internet, it takes the expertise of a trained physical therapist to get to the root of the problem causing your pain. A physical therapist will also know which exercises are most beneficial for you, your unique physiology and the nature of your problem.

The diversity of our staff also means we can handle any and all causes of your pain. If a more complex orthopedic problem or neurologic issue is feeding into your back pain, we can consult with staff who are experts in those areas, including referrals for pain-blocking injections or surgery.