Working an office job may not seem like a particularly dangerous or unhealthy occupation, but it can actually take quite a toll on your body, if you’re not careful. The human body is designed for walking and standing, so sitting for long periods at a time can be harmful for your lower back.
There are steps you can take to avoid back pain in the first place, such as getting a good ergonomic desk chair, taking regular breaks, and stretching. However, if it’s not possible for you to do those things, or you’ve been a little bit neglectful, you might find yourself experiencing lower back pain.
You can take these same actions to alleviate lower back pain once it’s already happening, but if that doesn’t help, it may be time to consider physical therapy for lower back pain. Physical therapists will know the right pain management activities for you to do, as well as activities to avoid, to get you feeling better soon.
Physical therapy activities for back pain will include stretching, dynamic stabilization exercises, and core strengthening exercises. These exercises and stretches will strengthen the secondary muscles of the spine, and help support the spine through various ranges of motion. They will also strengthen your core, or the abdominal muscles and lower back muscles, to provide a belt of muscle around the spine.
Physical therapy will also include passive treatments, such as heating the muscles with heating pads to loosen them before exercise, and then cooling them with ice packs to sooth them after physical therapy activities.
If physical therapy is not effective, it may be necessary to consider more aggressive treatments such as back surgery. But it’s important to make sure you give the physical therapy your best efforts, attending regularly, and doing all of your stretches, even if you’re uncomfortable. Physical therapy for back pain is a much simpler treatment than back surgery, and if you do end up having back surgery, you will likely require physical therapy afterwards anyway. Making the effort to find physical therapists to help with your lower back pain can be your most important step towards relief. Find out more here.