Physical therapy for spine patients

There's strong evidence that you can benefit from physical therapy if you're experiencing back or neck pain. In many cases, therapy can get you back to your daily activities faster and can even help you avoid surgery or other procedures.

Your physical therapist will tailor a program that fits your needs and activity level, using exercises you like to do. Your therapist will also work with you to evaluate and correct any biomechanical issues, which could include poor posture, muscle imbalance or even ill-fitting running shoes.

During physical therapy, you'll work on strengthening and coordinating your core muscles. Strengthening these muscles helps your body support your spine so that the burden of supporting your body weight isn't just placed on your bones.

Exercise should be an important part of your daily routine – not only when you have an appointment with us. To support your treatment, your therapist will develop a home exercise program designed for you.

Treatments offered

A licensed physical therapist will help you get back to your daily activities faster. During each session, you'll receive personalized attention to help you make progress safely and quickly.

In addition to exercises performed with the instruction of your therapist, the following treatments are also offered:

• Dry needling. Similar to acupuncture, it's based on Western medicine and focuses on trigger points in the muscles.
• Manual therapy. The therapist works with their hands to reduce your pain by working on stretching your muscles, releasing trigger points and gently moving joints and tissue.
• Cupping therapy. This technique puts special cups on your skin. The cups are used to create suction to help with pain, inflammation and blood flow.

Foundational spine exercises

These exercises should be used only as a starting point. Only a licensed physical therapist can create a series of exercises that targets your specific issues.