Idiopathic Low Back Pain: Extension Exercises, Manipulation & Prevention

If you suffer from low back pain, there are a variety of treatment options available to you. From prescription medications to electrical stimulation to surgery, back pain sufferers require tailored programs to manage pain issues.

For many low back pain sufferers, the complications of pain are often attributed to an injury, usually occupational or auto-related. However, for some low back pain sufferers, the complication may be attributed to an unknown cause, known as idiopathic low back pain.

For individuals who experience idiopathic low back pain, the pain is often associated with an unknown cause and origin but, in some cases, may be associated with a lesion development that progresses over time. Seeking passive and aggressive physical therapy is the best way in which to manage idiopathic back pain.

While some forms of physical therapy are designed to alleviate the actual pain associated with the idiopathic back complication, there are others that are designed to try and resolve the underlying cause and origin of the low back pain. Before any other form of therapy, however, your doctor will most likely recommend bed rest for several days. However, bed rest should be limited to only a few days as, anything beyond this, can lead to further complications.

Once bed rest has proven to lack effectiveness at alleviating back pain, your physician should make the referral to a physical therapist who can design a treatment plan based upon your condition. In many low back pain physical therapy programs, the therapist will utilize a combination of therapy techniques.

Extension exercises are commonly used when it is believed your idiopathic back pain may be associated with a disc protrusion. The use of extension exercises can be both passive and rigorous although there is no evidence to support that one is better than the other. As a result, most physical therapists will utilize passive extension exercises as a way in which to promote healing, alleviate pain but also further diagnosis the complication.

Manipulation is a common procedure in the physical therapy facility but you may be referred to a chiropractor for such services. In addition, your physical therapist will want to work on a program that involved education in prevention of recurrence.

Even if you are still struggling with idiopathic low back pain, the focus on occupational therapy that prevents recurrence is important to improving your long term health. Exacerbations are quite common once you experience an idiopathic low back complication and, as a result, your physical therapist will want to provide you with the tools necessary to promote exercise and prevent complications in the future.

As with any pain treatment, it is important to seek a comprehensive approach to your healthcare. For many chronic pain sufferers, the complications associated with low back pain may be associated with an idiopathic origin, resulting in the need for not only therapy but education to prevent recurrence and exacerbations. Rather than resorting to prescription medications, ask your doctor to order occupational physical therapy, extension exercises, and manipulation as an alternative form of treatment for your idiopathic low back complication.