Love Your Back Again: Beat Everyday Pain!

Meet the Patient (And His Back Pain)

Daniel was a computer programmer in his late 30s who spent his workday tapping away on his computer keyboard. In his spare time, he enjoyed playing board games with his buddies, taking his German shepherd to the dog park, and whipping up meals for his girlfriend.

One day, Daniel was digging out a dead shrub in his backyard when he felt a sudden spasm in his lower back, followed by a sharp jolt of pain. He stopped for the afternoon, but the pain hadn’t receded the next day. Or the next.

Daniel’s back pain was intense enough that it didn’t just cause pain; it also impacted his mobility. Forget digging out a shrub; now, Daniel could barely walk his dog! And while the pain lessened somewhat while he was sitting, it was still bothersome enough to distract him from work.

Enough’s Enough: Daniel Visits a Physical Therapist

Eventually, Daniel’s girlfriend told him he needed to seek treatment. She suggested he try a physical therapist, as she’d had a good experience with physical therapy after her own back injury.

At the PT clinic, Daniel shared his symptoms and noted that the pain had started while he was doing yard work. His therapist also guided him through several movement screens, testing Daniel’s range of motion and strength.

By the end of the appointment, Daniel’s therapist had determined that Daniel likely had an issue with his lumbar discs (the cushions found between vertebrae) from digging out the tree root; he’d twisted his body while lifting a heavy clump of dirt, damaging his discs. 

However, part of the reason Daniel suffered the injury was because the muscles in his back and core were weakened due to his sedentary job. Without strong core muscles to support his spine, he was more susceptible to an injury, particularly when performing manual labor without any conditioning or warmup.

A Personalized Treatment Approach

Daniel’s physical therapist didn’t want to just mask Daniel’s symptoms. He wanted to resolve the underlying injury and help Daniel prevent future injuries. To accomplish this, he created a customized treatment plan that walked Daniel through the following steps:

• Relieve acute pain: Manual therapy techniques like back mobilization and soft tissue manipulation offered an all-natural alternative to pain medication.
• Restore mobility and build strength: A therapeutic exercise program helps address the underlying muscular weakness that set Daniel up for an injury in the first place. By building up the strength in his back and core, Daniel was able to provide more stability and support to his spine.
• Address lifestyle factors: Another factor in Daniel’s injury was his sedentary job. His physical therapist offered suggestions to help offset the prolonged sitting involved in computer programming, including taking stretching breaks every 30 minutes and investing in a standing desk.
• Prevent another injury: Finally, the therapist showed Daniel how to use proper technique when working in the yard and suggested some warm-up methods the next time Daniel needed to perform strenuous movements.