"Why does Physical Therapy fail to give you back pain relief?"

Physical Therapy is traditionally the next step after seeing an Orthopedic Doctor in trying to get back pain relief. That is if surgery is not recommended. So what should you expect? The process will start with an evaluation of your back pain  or Sciatica and here may be the start of the problem… here is why…. the doctor has to write a prescription with a diagnosis on it. You give the prescription to the PT and he or she will perform an evaluation... chances are the PT will simply confirm the diagnosis from the doctor, however the hope should be that they take the extra step to look for the root cause of your back pain. They may but chances are they have several other clients in the office at the same time and simply do not have the time.

So without a comprehensive evaluation to identify the root cause of you back pain they will simply treat your symptoms. We have just identified the second problem. The health care industry is required to show improvement with each and every session so the push is to reduce your symptoms to show progress in order for them to get paid. The long and short of it is that yes your pain can be reduced but the root cause rarely gets addressed, meaning that your back pain or Sciatica that you are suffering from will return again and again.

So what should you do?  When selecting a Physical Therapy office you may want to ask how many patients the office sees in a day and how many PTs they have on staff... then ask how many patients can a PT work with in an hour. Do not be surprised to hear that a PT can see up to three patients in an hour. That’s you and two others at the same time. Do you think you will get the attention and proper treatments you need? I doubt it.

There is a little joke in Physical Therapy when treating patients and it has to do with what course of modalities you will get. The joke is called Shake and Bake and it refers to everyone gets the same treatment protocol… that way it can be timed so that your PT can see other people simultaneously. What goes into a shake and bake treatment? It may start with a spin on a stationary bike or a trot a treadmill than you will get a 3 to 5 minute Ultrasound over the effected area followed by Electrical Stimulation to the area with a little Ice strapped to your body and to finish off your session you will get a hand out with exercises you should do at home. Certainly not a recipe for success!

Article courtesy of Steve Hefferon and Jesse Cannone of www.losethebackpain.com. Get the facts on sciatic nerve pain that your not getting from your doctor... free access to back pain articles, information, and research.


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