A physical therapist is a licensed professional who works with patients to restore and maintain proper body functioning after an injury, surgery, or other limitation to physical functioning. Therapists determine, then treat, the cause of back pain and other forms of body stress. Then they work with the patient to relieve stress, increase mobility, and decrease pain, with the goal of restoring and maintaining proper body functioning to the greatest extent possible.

Rehabilitative therapy often involves exercise training to strengthen and stretch muscles, along with improving posture, balance, and endurance. A therapist is familiar with many modalities, such as heat, cold, ultrasound, and electrical stimulation. Massage and traction machines may be employed to reduce pain and increase functioning.

Stretching maintains a full range of motion and muscle flexibility. Strengthening improves muscle function. A recent innovation in physical therapy is a concept called core strengthening. A focus on core strengthening and stability teaches a patient to focus on the muscles of the back and pelvis in order to build a strong foundation of physical support for bone and muscle health that prevents injury and corrects chronic behavior such as slouching and otherwise overtaxing muscle groups.

Focusing on Back Pain in Physical Therapy

Your back bears most of your bodily stress and strain. For example, back pain accounts for between five and ten percent of all sports-related injury. Lumbar pain often results from back muscles and ligaments that experience strain during heavy lifting, improper lifting, or following any awkward, sudden motion. Muscle spasms sometimes cause back pain as well. There may well be stress accumulated over time, due to long-term habits, with one specific event that unleashes the pain. Much of the time, however, there is no obvious cause.

For a back injury, it is wise to seek back pain physical therapy as soon as possible, in order to minimize the length and extent of your pain. Immediate physical therapy can also provide you with valuable advice on how to prevent any deepening of the pain, or any recurrence of an incident that caused your injury.

Some forms of back pain physical therapy treatment include:

- stretching and strengthening exercises, often demonstrated and practiced during a physical therapy session;
- exercises to improve range of motion and restore normal movement;
- mobilization of stiff joints;
- soft tissue release for tight muscles.

Once he or she is familiar with your case, a physical therapist can advise you on ways to advance your long-term back health. Advice may include:

- core strengthening exercises;
- how to properly lift heavy objects, babies, and so forth;
- ergonomics — how to properly position your chair and workstation to support your low back health and avoid syndromes such as repetitive stress injury

Since a physical impairment such as back pain can stem from a variety of sources, physical therapy treatment is highly individualized. An initial assessment, or intake appointment, will gather information on any history leading up to your current condition. Therefore, prior to your initial appointment, any notes you can bring to the appointment may be useful in helping your case. The physical therapist will guide the conversation, but good notes will help to jog your memory. Medical history information is important, too, so you can assist your therapist in treating your back pain by providing access to any such records too.