Physical therapy

Physical therapy is focused on improving function and pain. A good physical therapist will work with you to understand your pain, movement needs based on your lifestyle, improve your fitness (strength, flexibility, posture, breathing and relaxation, etc) and develop a customized home exercise program. It is crucial to understand that physical therapy may take time to have an effect, similar to how your pain took some time to reach its current level. Persistence is your best friend.

Some of you may have tried physical therapy in the past and it may not have helped you, but it does not mean that it will not help you this time too. It is important to find a physical therapist that works the best for you. You can look at physical therapists as coaches. Sometimes it takes more than one attempt to find the best fit for you and your condition. For low back pain one approach is called cognitive functional therapy (Peter O'Sullivan and Kieran O'Sullivan are some names to look up on the internet, their website is http://www.pain-ed.com).

Some success stories from patients on the internet can be found at: link 1 to a podcast, link 2 to another podcast by a PT, and link 3 to a webpage featuring patient stories.