Physical Therapy Tips for Back Pain
If you are one of the 40% of people who have suffered from back pain in the past year, these physical therapy tips for back pain will help you reduce your pain and avoid it in the future.
After 9 years working in physical therapy, I’ve learned it’s a unique field. We focus on empowering patients to reduce their own pain and we focus on giving them practical tools to avoid pain in the future. Keep reading for my top 3 tips to reduce and avoid back pain.
Tip #1 for back pain: stretch
Stretching is the first thing to do when you have pain. This is because tightness in a joint or muscle is usually a large contributing factor to the pain.
When stretching to reduce pain, make sure you start with gentle movements and gradually increase how hard you are pushing into the stretches. I recommend focusing on the following 3 areas to reduce your back pain, no matter where your pain is located.
- Upper back (your thoracic spine). Especially stretch backward and into rotation.
- Lower back (your lumbar spine). Especially stretch backward.
- Hips. Especially stretch your hip flexors and glute muscles.
These are the patterns of tightness that I have seen from working with patients in the clinic. Specific stretches for each of these areas will be in a future post! Be sure to subscribe!
Tip #2 for back pain: strengthen your core
A recent research study points to the effectiveness of core strength, overall strength training, and Pilates (I love Pilates!) for reducing chronic low back pain. When you train core strength you improve muscle recruitment and muscle strength in the muscles surrounding your spine. This increased muscle recruitment and strength reduces stress to your spine and helps reduce pain. My top 3 ways to train core strength are below!
- Strengthen your deep core muscles.
- Strengthen your full core muscles in functional positions (like standing and lifting).
- Strengthen your core muscles to fatigue to build muscle size.
Specific exercises for each strategy to come! These exercises are ones I do for myself and for my patients! Subscribe so you don’t miss them!
Tip #3 for back pain: bend correctly
It’s said that we bend forward a few thousand times per day and bend back to a neutral position a few hundred times per day. Think about this for yourself. How many times a day do you bend forward to pick something up off the floor, wash your hands, or pet your dog? Compare that with how many times a day you adjust your posture to stand upright (neutral spine) and how many times you might even extend back past this neutral posture.
Just this discrepancy in the directions we bend is enough to explain the fact that 40% of us will have back pain this year. That’s why bending correctly is so important. When we bend maintaining a neutral spine, we reduce the amount of times we round our spine forward and thus reduce the stress we place on our spine. Below are my top 4 cues to bend and lift correctly in order to reduce back pain.
- Pinch your shoulder blades together
- Sit your butt back
- Keep your back flat
- Tighten your core
The combined effect of bending properly, strengthening your core, and stretching your spine and hips can make a huge difference in the back pain you experience.
Stay tuned for upcoming posts that dive deeper into these 3 tips! Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any tips on reducing back pain!
If you don’t want to wait for my post on core strength, see my post on glute and core strength for reducing knee pain.
Disclaimer: These 3 strategies are not a substitute for full medical evaluation. You should consult your doctor if you are experiencing any new pain. If any of these strategies sound especially helpful for you, be sure to discuss with your doctor the best way to implement them into your health plan.