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 physical therapists find which one is behind your low back pain and treat it with hands-on care, exercise and movement re-education at our Laguna Niguel clinic.
What is behind your lower back pain
Back pain rarely has one cause. The plan depends on how it started, exactly where it hurts and how you move.
Pulled muscles and back spasms
Lifting, twisting or a long day of bending can leave you feeling like you pulled a muscle in your back. The muscles around the spot guard and tighten into back spasms.
Herniated disc and bulging disc
A herniated or bulging disc can irritate a nearby nerve and send pain into the buttock or leg. Leg symptoms get their own page, Sciatica.
Degenerative disc disease and 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, long-lasting back pain, 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.
What your first visit for back pain involves
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 test how your spine and hips move, how strong your trunk is, and which movements ease your symptoms.
Your plan
You leave with a plan built on what the exam found, and exercises to start at home on day one.
How we treat low back pain
Hands-on care
Manual therapy eases stiff joints and tight muscle so you can move more freely.
Therapeutic exercise
Strength, mobility and core work chosen for your back, and for the activity you want to return to.
Movement re-education
We teach you how to lift, sit, bend and turn so the pain is less likely to return.
“I have had a positive experience at Laguna Orthopedic Rehabilitation. I had lower back pain which made it difficult to perform some daily activities. …”
When your back pain reaches your leg, hip or neck
If the pain travels below the knee, or you have numbness or tingling, 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. A neck that is stiff along with your back is on the neck pain page.
More about the low back from the LOR 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
Whether your insurance plan needs a referral differs from plan to plan: call the number on your insurance card to check, or call us before your first visit and we will help you find out.
Back pain care in Laguna Niguel, California
LOR Physical Therapy treats back pain at our Laguna Niguel clinic, 31271 Niguel Road, Suite J, for patients across South Orange County.
Whether your insurance plan needs a referral differs from plan to plan: call the number on your insurance card to check, or call us before your first visit and we will help you find out.
Meet the people who treat you on our team page.