Physical Therapy Treatments Help Your Back Injury Heal Properly

Posted on: 1 May 2019

When you hurt your back due to a fall or other accident, your doctor may recommend physical therapy to help you recover. By having regular physical therapy treatments, your back can heal properly so you lower the risk of having lasting effects from the accident. While exercises are an important aspect of therapy, a physical therapist can help your back in some of these other ways too.

Prevent Stiffness and Scar Tissue

When you have a back injury, it's normal to restrict your movements to avoid pain. However, that could lead to stiffness in your muscles, loss of range of motion, and the development of adhesions. A physical therapist takes your injury into account to determine if you should remain immobile or if you need to do stretches to help the healing and to keep scar tissue broken up during the healing process.

Teach You How to Manage Your Condition

Back injuries can take a long time to heal, and you may have to work or care for small children before healing is complete. One aspect of physical therapy is learning how to do daily activities in a way that doesn't increase your pain or interfere with healing. This might involve learning how to sit or stand for long periods, learning to lift properly, and learning techniques for dealing with pain so you can stay active. You might even need to wear a back brace or neck collar, and your therapist can help fit the device for you and teach you how to use it.

Help with Pain Relief Techniques

Physical therapy sessions help with pain in a number of ways. Your initial treatments may be focused on pain relief by using things like heat on your back or ultrasound treatments. A massage might help with pain, or positioning your back in a certain way on a table might relieve pain for a short period. While these techniques are done in the clinic, your therapist may teach you ways to relieve pain at home such as positioning yourself on pillows to relieve pressure on your back.

In addition, your therapist treats your whole body so your back has support from other muscle groups and is at reduced risk of further injury. By holding your back in a way that prevents pain, you might weaken some muscles and overdevelop others, but when you do physical therapy, your recovery is guided and monitored so you can avoid complications that leave you with an increased risk of back pain or injuries due to strain.

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