Back Pain
Back pain is the most common reason people see a physical therapist, and most of it is mechanical: a strained muscle, an irritated disc or stiff joints. Our Doctors of Physical Therapy find which one is behind your lower back pain and treat it one-on-one at our clinics in Franklin, Brentwood and Nashville, Tennessee.
What is behind your low back pain
Back pain rarely has a single cause, so the plan depends on how it started, where it hurts and how you move.
Back spasms and a pulled muscle
Lifting, twisting or a long day of bending can leave you saying, "I pulled a muscle in my back." The muscles around the spot guard and tighten into back spasms.
Herniated disc and bulging disc
A herniated disc or a bulging disc can irritate a nearby nerve and send pain into the buttock or leg. Leg symptoms have their own page, Sciatica.
Degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis
Degenerative disc disease is common with age and often feels like a dull, aching low back. A narrowed spinal canal, called stenosis, can add leg symptoms and make long walks harder.
Sacroiliac joint pain
The sacroiliac joint sits where the spine meets the pelvis and can cause one-sided pain low in the back and into the buttock.
New back pain, back pain that will not go away, and why rest alone rarely helps
Back pain is called acute when it is new and chronic when it has lasted three months or longer. Either way it is worth having looked at, because pain that comes and goes can leave stiff joints and a weak trunk behind, and those set you up for the next flare-up.
For new pain, staying active within your comfort usually helps more than bed rest. Your physical therapist shows you which movements are safe now and how to build back up. If your back flares when you lift, run or golf, ask about the Return-to-Training Roadmap, which is built for people who train through pain.
What your back pain evaluation at Elevate615 involves
Sessions run 55 to 60 minutes and are one-on-one with a Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Your story
How it started, what makes it worse, such as back pain from sitting or back pain when bending, and what you want to do again.
How you move
We assess your mobility, strength and control, and find which movements ease your symptoms and which provoke them.
Your plan
We begin targeted treatment and exercise in the same visit, and you leave knowing what to do between sessions. Many patients see meaningful change within four to six visits; longer-standing problems can take more.
How we treat lower back pain
Hands-on care
Manual therapy eases stiff joints and tight muscle so you can move more freely.
Dry needling and laser
When tight, guarded muscle is part of the picture, Dry Needling can release it. Class IV laser may help ease discomfort during rehab.
Exercise, lifting and posture
Progressive strength and core work, plus coaching on how to lift, sit, bend and turn, so your back is stronger than before the flare-up.
Pain going down your leg, pain in pregnancy, and pain from a hip or joint
If the pain travels below the buttock, or you have numbness or tingling in the leg, read about Sciatica. Stiff hips often overload the low back, so we look at hip pain too, and back pain tied to worn joints is covered under Arthritis & Joint Pain. Back pain during pregnancy or after a baby is treated with a different plan, described on our prenatal and postpartum page.
More on back pain from the Elevate615 blog
See a doctor first, or go to the ER, if you have
Most back pain is not dangerous, but these signs are not for a physical therapy visit first.
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
- Numbness in the groin or inner thighs
- Fever along with back pain
- Back pain after a serious fall or accident
You do not need a physician referral to start physical therapy at Elevate615: Tennessee allows direct access. If longer care later needs a physician involved, we coordinate with them.
Back pain care in Franklin, Brentwood and Nashville
Elevate615 treats back pain at our Franklin clinic in Cool Springs, and we also see patients at our Brentwood and Nashville clinics.
You do not need a physician referral to start physical therapy at Elevate615: Tennessee allows direct access. If longer care later needs a physician involved, we coordinate with them.
Meet the people who treat you on our team page.