Back problems are slightly more common in adult women than men; nearly 30% of the adult female adult population suffers from LBP, compared to 25 percent of the adult male adult population (1). Approximately 31% of men acknowledged that their condition affects their employment compared to 20% of women (2).
Sources: 1) CDC, 2) American Physical Therapy Association
Back Pain is the Most Common Disability
Nearly 30% of the US population experienced lower back problems in the last three months in 2019, compared to 28% in 1997. For those over the age of 65, in 1997, 29.5% experienced back pain, increasing to 33.7% in 2013(6)
Source 6) Center for Disease Control & Prevention
Age as a Factor in Back Pain
Most lower back issues start between the ages of 30 and 50, and the pain tends to get more common over time, but back pain can happen to people of any age. This is due to the loss of bone strength and osteoporosis (which leads to fractures), loss of flexibility and muscle tone, and a reduction in the fluid and flexibility of the intervertebral discs.(7)
Source: StartStanding.org
Do you wake up in the morning with nagging back pain? Are you feeling achy in your back, buttocks, or even thigh? Do you have to watch what you do, because you may throw out your back?
Back pain and sciatica differ but are often confused with each other. Back is specific to the upper, middle or lower back. Sciatica is a more diffuse, radiating pain down the buttock, thigh, and even leg. It is also possible to have radiculopathy, which is a radiating numbness, tingling, burning, or sharp pain to a specific part of the leg. This is often associated with a herniated disc, or entrapment of the nerve of that area, as it exits the space between spinal vertebrae.
If you’re searching for back pain relief or sciatica relief, don’t rely on medicines to mask the symptoms. Your body is telling you there is a deeper root cause that needs to be fixed. Know that, physical therapy should be your first treatment of choice. It eliminates your need for harmful pain reliving medication, such as opioids, and possibly will help you to avoid an invasive surgical procedure in the future.
General back pain typically develops as the result of an injury. This can be due to repetitive straining motions, such as repetitive bending down throughout the day to pick up a toddler, or a more serious, sudden trauma, such as a motor vehicle accident. Underlying conditions, such as herniated discs, can also cause immense pain, and cause radiculopathy pain to the thigh, leg, or foot. Degenerative disc disease is a common condition that happens with aging, which can result in back pain. people with this condition typically report dull, aching pains in their lower back, and have difficulty with prolonged standing or walking.
Sciatica’s Medical name is “lumbar radiculopathy.”. Many different types of injuries can cause the development of sciatica, including arthritis, bone spurs, or any other injury that impacts the sciatic nerve. Most commonly, we find that people lose their flexibility in the hips and pelvis, which causes the gluteus, priformis and hip muscles to become tightened. This in turn, alters the mechanics of the spine, and causes compression to the sciatic nerve as it travels through these tissues
Difference between back pain and sciatica?
Back pain
“Back pain” is a term that can be caused by an array of different conditions. For example, you may experience back pain due to poor posture, a motor vehicle accident, or a lifting injury. The treatment plan that our dedicated Physical therapist at Long Island Physical therapy sets up for you, will depend on how you developed the back pain, in addition to its exact location and your past medical history.
Back pain can be described as acute(recent), or chronic (typically lasting for three months or longer).
Sciatica
Sciatica is a specific type of back pain that is reported as being highly uncomfortable. However, it is also fortunately very simple to diagnose. People with sciatica experience pain along their sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in your body.
The sciatic nerve begins at your lower back and then splits at the base of your spine to extend further down to your buttocks, legs, and finally to the bottom of each foot. The sciatic nerve can become compressed or irritated, which causes a “shooting,” “stinging,” or “burning” sensation in your lower back, buttocks, legs, or feet.
For most people, back pain will come and go. However, what many people don’t realize, is that the underlying problem of poor joint movement, core weakness, and poor muscle coordination, will set them up for a future back injury, which can be significantly worse.
Back pain and sciatica are both completely treatable through physical therapy. Our Physical therapist at long island physical therapy creates a specific treatment plan for you that is dependent upon your diagnosis. The early stages of your physical therapy treatment focuses on quick pain relief.
As your pain reduces, our Physical therapy will expand on strengthening your core muscle group with specific therapeutic exercises and stretches. The goal here is to increase your strength and range of motion to prevent re-injury of your spine. Finally, we teach you ergonomics and ways to make sure you know how to take care of your spine, avoiding future problems.
If you are suffering from sciatica, our Physical therapist will implement specific leg stretches into your treatment plan to loosen the sciatic nerve. This restores the natural health of the nerve and quickly reduces symptoms.
If you are experiencing back pain or sciatica, request an appointment with our specialist at Long Island physical therapy. No matter how severe the pain may be, we will help you get back to function as quickly as possible.
Contact Long Island Physical Therapy today for your appointment today and find out how we can get you started on the road to recovery.
Are you ready to take your life back? If so, contact us at Long Island Physical Therapy .
