One of the most common symptoms we treat, is lower back pain. It can be challenging to deal with and physically draining, preventing you from living a good quality lifestyle. Even small tasks can become daunting.
At least 80% of Americans experience low back pain at any given time, according to the ACA. Our job as physical therapists, is to help you treat that pain at the base of your spine. We do that by identifying the root cause and determining what activity in your daily lifestyle resulted in the pain.
There are several issues that may cause lower back pain.
These are a few common causes of lower back pain, however, every patient is different and diagnosing the cause of your pain requires an assessment.
Physical therapists can provide you with an assessment designed to pinpoint the cause of your pain. There are several issues that a lower back evaluation might reveal. Three of the most common issues your physical therapist might uncover are:
- Bruised tailbone — The coccyx is the medical term for the tailbone. A strong blow to this bone can cause a bone bruise and be the source of your lower back pain. Typically, a bruised tailbone is the result of falling on your butt. Sitting on hard surfaces can also cause this injury. It generally takes about four weeks for a bruised tailbone to recover.
- Lumbar spondylosis — This issue involves the degeneration of the discs, facet joints or vertebrae in the lower spine. In turn, the degenerated structures can cause pain. Typically, this involves these structures pinching spinal nerves in the lower back. More than 80% of Americans over 40 have lumbar spondylosis.
- Sacroiliac joint dysfunction — The sacroiliac (SI) joint is located between the hip bones and the sacrum. Damage or degeneration of this joint can cause pain that radiates into the lower back. Additionally, the pain of sacroiliac joint dysfunction (SIJD) is typically felt on only one side of the body. Researchers report that SIJD is responsible for up to 25% of all persistent lower back pain.
Owen PT can help with pain in your lower back
Are you looking for a solution to lower back pain? At Owen Physical Therapy we are dedicated to not only treating your pain, but finding the cause of that pain so that you can implement a solution to remedy it.
Come in to our East Mesa location for an evaluation, where we can begin to identify your problem and build a physical therapy plan that is personalized to your specific needs.
Take the first step to ridding yourself of lower back pain. Make us your trusted Arizona PT and contact us today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.