This is a 3 part series that will help you either continue or return to doing things you love by learning how to Achieve High-Performance Health.
Back pain can be one of the worst types of pain. It can come on without warning and can last for days, weeks and months.
Recently I had a really bad flare up of my lower back pain. If you have been around long enough you may have heard my story about my back while I was on vacation in Hawaii celebrating 20 years of marriage. I am not sure if it was sitting for the long flight over there or sleeping on a different mattress but it almost destroyed my vacation. This was over 2 years ago.
Since then I had been doing really good and my back was feeling great. I was riding my bike and lifting weights regularly. Actually I had a really good workout the night before this new onset of pain. The next morning I woke up feeling a little stiff but nothing out of the ordinary for someone my age but when I leaned over to grab some silverware out of the sink to load it into the dishwasher I felt a twinge of pain. Over the next several hours the pain intensified and I was not able to stand up straight. I won’t tell you what my wife and kids were saying.
Needless to say we drove to the clinic and started using the deep tissue laser on my back. By Monday morning I was feeling at least 75% better and I was able to stand up straight. Within a week I was back to 95%.
This is an example of what we call Phase I of the The MAGICAL 5 Phases of Healing Process I developed and we use to help you recover from an injury or surgery quicker so you can return to doing the things you love.
First let’s address the MAGICAL, this is the acronym for our core values.
Making a difference,
Attitude,
Gratitude,
Integrity,
Customer and community service
Leadership.
We believe this is where it all starts when you begin your journey with us.
Over my 23+ years of experience I have also identified 5 distinct phases our clients go through to help them recover and return to the life they want to live. It doesn’t matter if you are looking to avoid surgery or come to us after surgery. Young and old we all go through these phases.
What are The MAGICAL 5 Phases of Healing?
- Minimize Pain and Inflammation
- Restore Mobility, Flexibility and Strength
- Return to Normal Function and Activity
- Maintenance and Injury Prevention
- Performance Enhancement
Phase I is all about getting you out of pain and reducing the inflammation. This is frequently where most people begin their recovery process. At this stage they may try some home remedies like ice, ibuprofen, tylenol, hot packs or homeopathic options such as arnica, turmeric, ginger or garlic.
Lets face it, no one wants to hurt and getting out of Phase I is very important. From a physical therapy standpoint we can use electrical stimulation, Ultrasound, therapeutic dry needling and deep tissue laser which is the most effective tool we currently have.
As a general rule, use ice for the first 48-72 hours after the onset of an injury or new pain and then switch over to gentle heat and easy mobility exercises to avoid excessive stiffness in the joint.
Once my pain started to subside, I began a series of very gentle mobility exercises and very light strengthening activities to get the spine muscles engaged. This is moving into Phase II- Restore Mobility, Flexibility and Strength.
As you can probably tell the phases begin to overlap with each other. Although I am not 100% pain free at this point it is perfectly ok to start light activity. This will prevent the body from getting too far out of alignment by developing poor postural habits and stiffness as a protective mechanism.
What are you missing out on because you fail to address the real problem?
One of the biggest mistakes I see patients making (and I have done it as well) is they think that once the pain is gone then they are back to 100%, nothing could be further from the truth. What happens during periods of injury is you don’t utilize your entire range of motion and your body is very good at finding ways of avoiding the pain, giving you the impression that everything is back to normal.
Over time those altered movement patterns become the new normal and most of us don’t realize that we have lost some strength and motion along the way. This sets us up for another injury and the cycle repeats itself. It’s kinda like replacing worn tires on your car because the alignment has gone bad but not fixing the alignment which caused the problem in the first place.
This is one of the reasons we see so many people with back pain in the clinic. Their pain went away after a few days or weeks but they didn’t do anything to work on the strength or mobility of their spine. The body adapted which allowed the muscles to get weaker, and then they are surprised when the pain returns.
By the way, this is not specific to the back, we see similar issues throughout the body. If you are experiencing some aches and pains or feel like you have recovered from an injury but are concerned about it coming back then give us a call for a FREE Physical Therapy Check UP, we call this a Discovery Visit.
One of our Doctors of Physical Therapy will discuss your concerns, check your mobility and strength as well as help you design a successful recovery plan to either get you out of pain or prevent it from coming back.
Call NOW To Schedule 817-220- MOSS (6677) Your FREE Discovery Visit
At MOSS Rehabilitation Center we make it easy for you to get started. We even have a simple 3 step process.
1. Schedule a FREE NO Obligation, Discovery Visit with one of our experts. During this visit, you will talk with one of our friendly experts about your issues. This is a safe and confidential visit, you can trust that your safety and privacy is important to us. We are taking extra measures to ensure that you remain safe during this pandemic.
2. Receive a Customized (Individualized) Treatment Plan. Based on your free discovery visit, we will put together a custom, unique to you plan that will address all of your nagging pains and issues. The goal is to get you back to your healthy self as soon as possible while also addressing your issues for the long term.
3. Get Your Life Back and Do What You Love. The best result for us is a patient who tells us they can finally do what they love without the constant pain, stress, or issue they were facing. Together we can get you back to living life without worry.
Not only will we create a physical therapy program designed around you and your needs, but we also ensure to provide you with quality education for your long-term health.
The first step is always the hardest and I can’t take it for you but I promise we will do everything we can to help you.
As always if you have any questions or suggestions please drop me a line at robert@springtownphysicaltherapy.com or give me a call 817-220-MOSS (6677).
To your health,
Dr. Robert Moss PT, ScD, OCS, FAAOMPT
PS. Remember the 3 D’s of handling any problem-Don’t Ignore it, Don’t Mask It, Do Something About It.
