Back pain is one of the most common pain conditions in the world, so it’s no surprise that it’s also one of the more common conditions we see atour practice. From herniated discs to pinched nerves and everything in between, we treat a wide variety of spine conditions, but our goals for each patient are almost always the same, even if how we attain these goals is different. Below, we explain what four goals we work towards with each of our back pain patients.
PT Goals For Back Pain
Here’s a look at the four goals we have for every client that walks into our clinic looking for back pain relief:
- Decrease Pain and Discomfort – The biggest reason why someone comes to our clinic is because pain is affecting their quality of life. That’s why decreasing pain is one of our top goals when it comes to providing care. Exercises to strengthen injured structures or free compressed nerves and reduce inflammation all help us achieve this goal.
- Increase Range of Motion – Range of motion limitations are also common with back injuries. Maybe you can’t bend down as easily or turn your neck as far in either direction as you used to. Another goal of physical therapy is to increase your range of motion and work to return it to pre-injury levels or as close to it as possible. Regardless of whether pain or muscle weakness is causing this mobility limitation, we work to help improve functionality through a variety of tasks and exercises.
- Provide A Non-Aggravating Therapy Routine – When recovering from an injury, a delicate balance needs to be struck between pushing the area with exercise that helps to strengthen the area without overloading it and causing more damage. The job of the physical therapist is to find exercises that decrease pain, increase range of motion and strengthen the injured area without overstressing the same location. With years of professional experience, we can help patients find this balance much easier than if they tried to accomplish this on their own.
- Prevent Future Recurrences – The final goal we have with our patients is to develop a routine that helps them strengthen an injured structure such that recurrence likelihood is minimal. We love working with our patients, but in an ideal world, they won’t need to come back if we’ve done our job correctly at the conclusion of our sessions. Not only does that involve treating the current injury, but also educating the patient on the best practices for preventing the same type of injury in the future.
For more information on how we work to accomplish these four goals with each patient, or to get set up on your path to wellness, reach out to the staff at OrthoRehab Specialists today.