When a spinal disc is compressed or pulled out of place, it can be very painful to deal with. For many people, rest and other at-home treatments may help reduce the pain, but they don’t treat the underlying problems that can cause the pain in the first place. However, there are two physical therapy techniques that can help reduce lower back disc pain and treat its underlying causes.
1. Active release
Scar tissue that’s built up in your muscles can be causing you to need treatment for lower back disc pain. This is because scar tissue makes muscles tighten up and decreases their ability to move normally. In turn, this can lead to spinal misalignment that compresses discs in the lower back, which is painful.
The Active Release Technique® is one type of physical therapy that’s designed to treat scar tissue buildup in your muscles. This treatment is a form of soft tissue mobilization, and it uses more than 500 hands-on movements to break up scar tissue in muscle fibers. Breaking up the scar tissue can decrease tension in your muscles, and this can then help realign the spine correctly, reduce disc compression and decrease your pain.
2. Pilates
Though you may have heard of Pilates, you may not know how helpful a treatment it can be for lower back disc pain. Pilates is a technique that includes stretches and low-impact strengthening exercises, and it’s designed to help improve flexibility, increase balance and promote greater muscle strength.
These Pilates benefits can be very helpful for people struggling with disc pain in their lower back. For one thing, the improvement of flexibility can help restore normal blood flow to a compressed disc, and this can help decrease pain. Also, Pilates can be used to increase the strength of spine-supporting core muscles. This can be helpful for disc pain patients because a stronger core helps lengthen and better support the spine, which can reduce disc compression and pain.
Find other physical therapy techniques to treat lower back disc pain at SOL Physical Therapy
Our team at SOL Physical Therapy is ready to help patients treat their lower back disc pain. To get you started, we’ll perform a one-on-one evaluation to determine the root cause of your pain. Then, we’ll create an individualized treatment plan for you that includes effective techniques like:
- Active release
- Graston Technique®
Are you ready to take the next step to reduce your pain? Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an appointment.
