Back Conditions

The back is comprised of three main areas:

  • Thoracic spine (upper third)

  • Lumbar spine (middle third)

  • Sacrum/Pelvis (bottom third)

All of these parts work together in conjunction with your hips and provide your body with a combination of stability and mobility that allow you to move pain free. When one of these areas stops working due to an injury or a movement pattern dysfunction starts to set in which results in your body restricting movement in that area. This restriction may not be painful but it will likely cause other areas of your spine and body to start moving more. When this occurs your muscles have to work harder to stabilize this new hypermobility. Over time, the overcompensation becomes painful. For long term resolution back pain identifying and treating the initial restricted area as well as the pain point is key. We at ZOOZ take a comprehensive approach by assessing the whole body and analyzing movement in multiple areas.

Common Diagnosis

Stenosis

  • A narrowing of canals and spaces of your spine where your nerves exit the spinal cord. Typical presentation involves difficulty bending backward and relief of pain when bending forward.

Disc Bulge/Herniation

  • A disc bulge/herniation is when the intervertebral disc moves out of its position and puts pressure on other structures in the body. A bulge is typically minor and symptoms tend to be minor. A herniation can be more significant and can lead to neurovascular compression causing weakness in specific muscles down the leg or core. It can also lead to altered sensation in specific areas of your legs and abdomen. Depending on severity of the herniation one may experience a range of these symptoms. Typical presentation involves difficulty with sitting for prolonged periods of time and inability to walk for long periods of time. Bending backward may eliminate symptoms but it can also aggravate depending on how severe the herniation is.

Facet Dysfunction

  • Pain coming from the facet joints may also be called “facet syndrome.” The facet joints can become irritated and inflamed and may cause pain soreness and stiffness that is reproduced with a certain movement. Clients often report increased pain with extension or prolonged periods of inactivity like sitting or standing too long. Changing positions often improves pain.

Lumbar Strain/Sprain

  • A strain happens when muscles of the lumbar spine are abnormally stretched or torn. A sprain happens when ligaments of the lumbar spine are stretched or torn. Typically pain is worse with movement, muscles spasms may occur, and decreased Range Of Motion (ROM) with pain at the ends of motion are common. Usually these heal well with time but it is important to make sure that all of the muscles that were injured get back to working and are firing at the right time.

Lumbago

  • Generalized term for low back pain. May sometimes also be categorized as lumbago with sciatica if pain refers down into the hips groin or legs.

Post surgical

Laminectomy

  • A surgical procedure that is usually performed on someone dealing with significant stenosis. The surgery involves removing a part of the bone called the lamina. This helps to reduce compression of the nerves in the spine and often the prognosis is excellent for symptom resolve and return to prior level of activity. The one downside is less protection in the region where the surgery was performed. But as long as you aren’t a boxer or a football player this is ofter a tradeoff most people will accept.

Discectomy

  • A procedure that involves removing part of the intervertebral disc to eliminate pressure on a nerve as it leaves the spinal canal. These procedures are done when conservative treatment has not been effective at reducing the compression on the nerve. Recovery from this procedure can take some time depending on how long the nerve was compressed and the overall health of the client prior to surgery. Physical therapy is focused on stabilizing the surgical area, safety with movements and transfers and gradual progression of range of motion strength and flexibility of the soft tissue muscles and nerve mobility.

Fusion

  • This surgical procedure is often done as a last resort. All other treatments have been unsuccessful at reducing the pain and and persons function is significantly limited. Here the area of pain is fused to the joints surrounding it to create more inert stability. This can be helpful in the short term and can help reduce pain but it is incredibly important to teach the client to perform tasks differently to reduce strain going through the surgical site. If this is not done often the area above or below the fusion site start to break down and a second or third fusion is required a few years down the road. Physical therapy is very helpful at strengthening and stabilizing movement while educating new patterns of movement to reduce the risk of future fusions.

Disclosure: the information presented here does not substitute a thorough medical examination. It is for information purposes only. If you have any questions about the information presented above, please contact us and we can schedule a time to talk about any of the conditions listed above in more detail.