Physical Therapy plays an important role not only in treating persistent or recurrent low back pain, but also in prevention and risk reduction of future occurrences. If you have experienced low back pain, you are not alone. Approximately one quarter of Americans report experiencing low back pain within the past 3 months at any given time. Low back pain often occurs due to overuse, strain or injury. This includes too much bending, twisting, lifting, and even too much sitting.
How Can You Prevent Low Back Pain?
Keep your back, stomach, and leg muscles strong and flexible. Maintain a regular fitness regimen – staying active can help prevent injuries!
Don’t slouch – keep good posture! Keeping your body in alignment allows it to be more efficient when you move.
Ask for help or use an assistive device to lift heavy objects. If you are lifting something heavy, keep the load close to your body.
If we are asking you to do something that is hurting too much, let us know! Physical therapy should not be severely painful. It is not common to be so sore that patients are in pain or it affects their daily life. If this ever happens during or after an appointment, let us know and we will adapt your program.
We recommend budgeting 40-60 minutes for a typical therapy session. The only exception to this will be your first visit, which can take about 20 minutes longer due to the physical therapy evaluation your therapist will provide. We also recommend showing up about 10-15 minutes early to your first visit. This way, you can complete the paperwork before your visit time and streamline the process.
A physical therapy visit lasts about 40-60 minutes. The actual contents of the visit vary based on your diagnosis/need, but typically what happens is:
You check in with the receptionist, make any appointments necessary, and we discuss your health insurance benefits with you.
You go into the gym. You can change clothes if you need to, then begin therapy.
You perform 6-8 various exercises and stretches. These can include therapeutic band exercises, light body weight exercises, or minimal weights. The stretches will promote strength, stability, improved range of motion, and pain relief.
We can initiate other techniques to include manual work, taping, cupping, and dry needling as needed.
The therapist makes recommendations based on your progress. These can include altering the frequency of visits, making additions/alterations to your home exercise plan, or things to do before your next visit.
You should wear loose clothes that make it easy to move. We also recommend sneakers. Workout clothes will work, but any comfortable clothing will work fine. Plan on giving your therapist access to your area of concern. The less your clothes restrict your movement and the more comfortable you are, the better. Shorts, yoga pants, or athletic/loose fitting pants and a tee shirt are all good options.
“After eight years of pain, a total knee replacement was exactly what the doctor ordered. It wasn’t the actual surgery I was dreading, but the months of Physical Therapy. However, the moment I walked into Elite, my impression was changed. The state of art facility is well managed, the professional and friendly staff made me feel welcome from the start, and all of the assistants made sure I was comfortable and well equipped to complete my therapy sessions.”
Gerald L.
Elite Physical Therapy Patient
“Elite Physical Therapy has helped me with exceptional professional services. Completely satisfied with their pro care and attitude. Thank y’all for everything! This experience has been a blessing I didn’t know how much I needed. If I ever run into folks who may need your services, I won’t hesitate to recommend you.”
Mark F.
Elite Physical Therapy Patient
“I feel blessed to have gone to Elite Physical Therapy and meet Marcus who taught me the basics to heal myself. My physical therapy has been a work in progress. It gave me the incentive to stretch my muscles and get my lower back in shape after spinal surgery. I now have more confidence to get back to normal activities as I did before I had my back problems.”
Ed J.
Elite Physical Therapy Patient
“My experience at Elite was very beneficial and enjoyable. The atmosphere was very congenial. The personnel was very pleasant. My therapy was very helpful. I recovered quickly and enjoyed all the exercises. I wholeheartedly recommend Elite to anyone who needs therapy services.”
Herbert B.
Elite Physical Therapy Patient
“After having bilateral knee surgery, I heard horror stories about rehab. Well, Elite Physical Therapy put those stories to rest. While it has been a challenge, they’ve been great at having it done the correct way for the best results. When I first arrived, I could barely lift each leg without help. Now I feel I am on my way to much more pain free way of life. I cannot THANK YOU enough for everything!”
Joe M.
Elite Physical Therapy Patient
“Elite Physical Therapy is an exceptional PT clinic. My DPT was Julia. She is an awesome PT! She is very knowledgeable and very kind. She was always very informative and encouraging! I had an incomplete spinal cord injury and came to Elite under the excellent care! Julia told me that I will walk again and I SO needed to hear that! Even though I still have a long way to go, I will always hear her words!”
Angela S.
Elite Physical Therapy Patient
“To My PT Team at ELITE, I would like to thank you for a job well done putting me back on the road to recovery after my total hip replacement. What an awesome job you guys have done! I could go on but it would have to be in the form of a book! THANK YOU!”
