Physiotherapy is the medical practice of manipulating parts of the body to insure movement. Physiotherapy was first practiced in the early 1920s and people who perform this therapy today are often called Physical therapists. Physiotherapy is used to treat many different medical problems, including chronic illness, pain, disease and injury. Physiotherapy to treat back pain is one of the more common reasons people seek this treatment.
Back pain is the most common reason for people in the United States to seek a physician. It is estimated that complaints of back pain account for more than 80 percent of doctor visits each year in the United States alone.
There are many different types of back pain and the most common is lower back pain. Lower back pain can be caused by a herniated disc, often called "a slipped disc" or a muscle spasm in the back. It can also be caused by a torn ligament. There are many ways to injure your lower back and most medical doctors will simply prescribe pain medication until the condition subsides. In most cases, improper lifting or bad posture is the culprit in lower back pain.
Some people with lower back pain experience the pain all of the time. This is called "chronic" back pain. Often, those who experience chronic back pain will opt to work with a physiotherapist to try to alleviate the back pain so that they can function normally. It is often preferable for people with chronic back pain to use physiotherapy to treat back pain than to undergo elective surgery for this problem as the surgery can often carry some risks. Some of the risks include making the pain actually worse or even causing paralysis.
When using physiotherapy to treat back pain, the physiotherapist will manipulate the spine in certain ways to try to alleviate the problem causing the pain. In many cases, if the problem is a herniated disc, the physiotherapist can move the disc back into place, eliminating the pain. If the problem is a torn ligament, the physiotherapist can massage the ligament and offer some form of treatment until this injury subsides.
Only a licensed physiotherapist should be permitted to work on someone who has back pain. It takes years of education to become a licensed physiotherapist and those who study are adept at not only determining what causes the back pain, but what will alleviate the symptoms.
Physiotherapy to treat back pain has become even more common in recent years, particularly in the instance of a herniated disc. Operations to repair a herniated disc are not only expensive and cause someone to be immobilized for a period of time, they carry an element of risk. If you have lower back pain and want an accurate diagnosis as well as treatment options and relief from pain, seek out a licensed physiotherapist. Physiotherapy to treat back pain is one of the most popular methods in the United States being used to treat those with chronic or acute back pain.
