Nearly 80% of people are bound to suffer from the problem of low back pain at some point in their life. In today’s uncomfortable lifestyle, this problem is considered one of the common and most disturbing physical problems. After any episode of low back pain that has lasted two to six weeks, or if there are frequent recurrences of low back pain, physical therapy is often recommended. A spine specialist usually considers physical therapy early, especially if the pain is severe.
The main goals of physical therapy are to decrease pain, increase function, and provide insight to prevent future recurrences. Physiotherapy for lower back treatment generally has two components which include passive physiotherapy which helps reduce the patient’s pain to a more manageable level and the other is active exercises.
What is Passive Physiotherapy?
In Passive Physiotherapy, spine doctors focus primarily on reducing pain with passive physiotherapy or modalities). These therapies are known as passive because they are performed on the patient. Heat/ice packs, TENS units, iontophoresis, and ultrasound are some examples of modalities.
Heat and/or ice are readily available and are the most commonly used types of modality and each type of therapy helps reduce any type of muscle spasm and inflammation. The TENS Units for Electrotherapy basically use electrical stimulation to modulate the sensation of lower back pain by canceling the pain signals that are sent to the brain. In the process of iontophoresis, steroids are delivered through the skin. The steroid is applied to the skin and then an electrical current is applied causing it to migrate under the skin. Also, those steroids produce an anti-inflammatory effect in the area that is causing pain. This type of modality is especially effective in relieving acute cases of low back pain. Whereas, ultrasound is a form of deep heating that involves the application of sound waves to the skin to penetrate the soft tissues. This is very helpful in relieving acute bouts of pain which also improves tissue healing.
What is meant by Active Physiotherapy?
With Passive Physiotherapy, Active Physiotherapy is also recommended as a necessity to rehabilitate the spine. In general, all therapy involves a combination of stretching exercises for back pain, strengthening exercises for back pain, and low-impact aerobic conditioning.
People who suffer from low back pain are recommended to stretch their hamstring muscles once or twice a day. For strengthening the back muscles, 15 to 20 minutes of dynamic lumbar stabilization or other prescribed exercises should be performed every other day. In treating the lower back, strengthening the core muscles is considered very important. It is strongly recommended that you learn these exercises properly from your physical therapist or other qualified health professional to see the best benefits.