Managing a Back Pain Flare-Up

It happened again, that sharp/stabbing pain in your low back when you bent forward to pick something up. You know what happens next… For the next few weeks, you’ll be managing this flare-up.

You wouldn’t believe how common this is, in fact, back pain flare-ups happen to almost everyone at some point in life. Here’s the problem: many people aren’t sure how to manage this and wind up resting, which is the opposite of what helps. If you want to not only manage your current flare-up quickly but also improve the health of you back long term you need to start with gentle active motions which will help limit your range of motion loss as well as reduce a lot of the muscle guarding that is always on board during one of these episodes. Coupled with those benefits, getting the blood pumping helps to flush a lot of the chemical inflammation that is on board after an issue like this which stimulates healing and reduces a lot of the discomfort

You’re bought in, you’re probably asking yourself what exercises you need to do?

 

Here are 3 of our favorites for this scenario:

Cat Cows

Bird Dogs

Lumbar Rotations

 

If you aren’t able to manage your back pain flare-up within a week or two max, you should see a physical therapist who specializes in back pain. Another scenario to consider seeing a PT is if you’ve been noticing an increase in the number of these episodes. Some only have one or two episodes in our lives, while others deal with this multiple times per year, if you are the latter then you should really consider putting together a plan with a professional to reduce this before it becomes harder to treat.

 

Here in Hendersonville at Onward Tennessee, we specialize in back pain. Both Dr. Zac and Dr. Alexis are physical therapists who love to treat these issues and prevent them from coming up in the future. If you want a plan to attack your back pain, schedule an initial evaluation, and let’s get started!