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Common Causes of Spine Pain (and How PT Can Help)

by | Dec 19, 2023 | Back Pain

close up of woman clutching her spine

Are you experiencing persistent back pain? The source of your pain may actually be your spine. If that’s the case, it’s important to know what may be causing your pain, so that you can treat it. Physical therapy is an important first step in treating your spine pain.

What is Spine Pain?

While spine pain is a type of back pain, it’s important to recognize when your pain is caused by a muscular issue or a spinal issue. If you’re experiencing back pain, some signs that it might be spine pain include:

  • Pain or tingling in other areas of the body – like legs, glutes or groin.
  • Weakness in your limbs or loss of motor function
  • Constant or persistent pain that feels like burning. Persistent in this case is pain that lasts for 14+ days.
  • Difficulty maintaining posture

If you’re experiencing any of the symptoms above alongside back pain, it’s a good idea to speak with a physical therapist to determine the cause of your pain. It could be caused by your spine, which will need treatment in order to heal and reduce your pain.

Related Content: Low Back Pain & MRI Results: Here’s What You Should Know

Common Causes of Spine Pain

If you’re experiencing spinal pain, there are a few common causes to know.

Spine injury or degeneration

If you’ve experienced a spinal injury, this could be causing your pain. This injury may have occurred years or decades before, but only now are you experiencing noticeable symptoms.

Bulging or ruptured discs

Your discs are cushions between the bones in your spine, and can bulge or rupture over time. This then presses on the sensitive nerves in your spine.

Arthritis

Arthritis can be present in your spine as well, which is called osteoarthritis.

Osteoporosis

Like arthritis, osteoporosis can also impact the bones in your spine.

The only way to know for sure what is causing your spine pain is to meet with one of our physical therapists. While you can also seek advice from your primary doctor, a specialist will be better suited to creating a comprehensive treatment plan.

How Can Physical Therapy Ease Or Get Rid Of Your Back Pain?

There are a few key ways physical therapy helps with back and spine pain. Physical Therapy with PRO Therapy can:

  • Get you out of the cycle of: pain, doctor, pills, more pain.
  • Reduce immediate pain and stiffness – usually in a couple of sessions.
  • Figure out what’s really going on, and get to the root cause of your back pain.
  • Target the specific problem with exercises and treatments catered to you and your back issue to help speed up recovery.
  • Put an end to the need for countless pain killers, which can be addictive and are no good for your health in the long term.
  • Get rid of that lack of energy often associated with being in constant pain.
  • Avoid dangerous back surgery and unnecessary injections.
  • Get you back to doing the things you need, want, and love to do with family and friends that you hadn’t been able to do.
  • Stand/sit with greater ease and walk farther distances without having the feelings of pain, tightness and weakness in your back or that it’s going to give out.
  • Sleep through the night without tossing and turning to try to find a comfortable position.

Because each case is different, it’s hard to know exactly what treatment options will be best for your spine pain. That’s why you should meet with one of our doctors of physical therapy in person so we can assess and speak with you directly about your symptoms.

Still not sure about physical therapy? Let’s chat!

We realize some people may be unsure if physical therapy is the right option for them. It could be that you’re not sure it’ll work, or you don’t know whether we can help with what you’re struggling with, or perhaps you had a bad experience somewhere else in the past. If that sounds like you and you’d like to come in and see for yourself how PRO Therapy can help you, sign up for one of our complimentary In Person Discovery Visits. During this session, you’ll meet with one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy one-on-one to discuss treatment options before you have to make a commitment.

Dr. Kevin Spahr has extensive expertise in post-surgical rehab, work-related injuries, sports injuries and motor vehicle accidents. He has clinical experience in treating all regions of the body including neck, back, shoulder, elbow, hand/wrist, hip, knee, and ankle/foot orthopedic conditions.
Dr. Kevin Spahr

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I had a great experience at PRO therapy. It’s a great mix of body work and exercise. It isn’t “a printout of your exercises and come back in two weeks” place. You do all the exercises in the gym with them each session so you know the correct form and how to do them on your own. I have really improved in my strength and my day to day pain has significantly reduced over my time there. My main PT was Dr. Kelvyn and he was great to work with. Very supportive and encouraging. He met me where I was at and didn’t make me feel bad if I couldn’t complete something. If I wanted to be seen but couldn’t get onto his schedule, I saw one of the other PTs and they were all equally great. It was seamless to work with someone else for the day. Jen and the other front desk staff were always very friendly and very helpful. I would highly recommend getting your physical therapy done here.
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I worked with Dr. Kelvyn here for over a year and a half on multiple lower body injuries (ankle, knee, hip, lower back). He is the best physical therapist I’ve ever worked with, and unfortunately I’ve had the misfortune of working with a lot of PTs in my lifetime. I appreciated that he really listened to what I was coming in and describing feeling to him each session, and then he tailored the exercises we did together and the exercises he prescribed to do at home based on what I reported at the beginning of our session. He also did a good job of adjusting my at home exercises to my needs and preferences. Can’t recommend Dr. Kelvyn or PRO Therapy enough!
Al O.
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My experience with Grace was wonderful. I saw her for pelvic floor therapy and some general physical therapy and hip mobility. She listened very well to my concerns, was very educational and helped me understand why I was doing the exercises I was doing. I would highly recommend Grace and Pro Therapy.