There are enough people out there who are ok with taking pills, or waiting until surgery, that doctors and insurance companies have shifted towards this model. As a result, it’s difficult for active people who want real solutions to find good help.
When living an active life is important to you, it can be gut-wrenching to have a doctor look you in the eyes and tell you to stop doing what you love. It can feel like a big part of your life has just fallen away. That’s why it’s important to find a Scottsdale back pain physical therapy doctor for your lower back pain who is on-board with you helping you live the best life you can.
When you treat the body as a system, you leave no stone unturned. This means that the solutions you get are lasting, adding YEARS to a healthy active lifestyle where you can continue doing what you love.
How Do I Know If I’ve Received a Quick-Fix For Back Pain?
The following scenarios are common when you’ve been given a quick fix…
- You have gone to the MD, who prescribed some medications, and asked you to come back if they didn’t work.
- You have been getting massages to manage your aching muscles, but they seem to just tighten right back up.
- You have been to chiropractic, and it feels nice afterwards, but your joint stiffness keeps returning.
- You have been to physical therapy, and the exercises they gave help a little, but you have to do them all day long to feel any better.
- You have been to any doctor, and they have only focused on the area of pain, and not what the other areas of your body are doing.
- You have gone to pain management, and they recommended injections, or burning your nerves.
- As a general rule, when you have back pain, your pelvis, hips, mid-back, and the firing of your multifidus muscle should all be checked. If this is not so…you might have had a quick-fix.
The truth is, that while a quick fix sounds nice at the beginning, you know it ends up costing more time and energy, and ultimately leads to more issues down the road. Deep down, you may be tired of quick fixes.
If you’re frustrated by the short term results that quick fixes provide, you may be a candidate for our “PHIX” approach (pronounced “fix”).
What is “The PHIX Approach?”
- A complete analysis that looks at your body as a system, not just one piece at a time.
- A combination of the latest and most impactful research across many industries.
- An analysis of the root cause of your back pain.
- An individual treatment plan to address every aspect of your limitation.
- The bridge between getting you “healthy” and keeping you active, mobile, and strong.
- A focus on using hands on treatment and movement to heal. Our Scottsdale back pain physical therapy team does not use hot-packs, estim, or other forms of passive temporary treatments.
- A standard our doctors hold themselves to, that makes sure you get the highest possibility of achieving your outcome.
About Back Pain
Common Diagnosis We Help
- Bulging Discs or Herniated Discs
- Arthritis
- Stenosis
- SIJ Pain
- Muscle Strain
Common Causes of Back Pain
- Muscle Imbalance
- Muscle Tightness
- Muscle Weakness
- Trauma
- Postural Tendencies
It’s important to know that the “diagnosis” or “cause” is not necessarily the “ROOT CAUSE.”
Here’s an example. John has had back pain for years. It confuses him because it seems kind of random. He goes to the gym and works out regularly and lifts pretty heavy without an issue. He never has issues moving furniture or anything heavy around the house.
One day, his toddler leaves a toy on the floor (as toddlers are prone to do), and he bends down to pick it up and WHAM…his back “goes out.” He now has tight muscles, stiff joints, and likely some extra pressure on the discs in his back.
Most people try stretching, massage, or chiropractic to address all of these individual issues. But you have to wonder…Why did it happen in the first place?
The answer lies in the connection between your brain and the RIGHT muscles. To put it simply, your body has two groups of muscles. Stabilizers and Movers. The stabilizers are supposed to hold the bones in place while the movers lift heavy objects.
One of these stabilizers is called your multifidus. Once you have a back injury, the multifidus turns off. The brain no longer uses it to stabilize. Instead, your brain uses the movers to stabilize, AND move. Since the brain is really good at learning new patterns, this pattern stays this way. In fact 81% of people with chronic back pain, show atrophy (shrinking) in their multifidi.
The movers eventually get fatigued of this, and the stabilizers are on vacation. So when John goes down to pick up that toy, there is a moment of instability, and then the brain freaks out and calls “all hands on deck.” All of your big movers contract and get strained, then jamming the joints in your back.
You see, the temporary solution to John’s PAIN is to treat these muscles and joints. But the long lasting solution is to correct the pattern between the brain and your multifidus, which is the root cause.
It’s likely that this is the first exposure that you’ve had to this idea, and you have questions. I’d like to invite you to speak with one of our experts over the phone free of charge. We can help you figure out if this is the reason you continue to have pain. Just click the button below and fill out the short form.
10 Reasons Back Pain Lasts Longer Than It Should
- You’ve gotten so much advice, you’re paralyzed by your options, so you’ve done nothing.
- You’ve been burned in the past, and you don’t want to waste time again by choosing the wrong option, so you’re doing a lot of research.
- Your back pain used to go away on its own, so you’ve been waiting.
- You looked up exercises to do on YouTube, but they only helped a little.
- You’ve already gone where your friends and family have recommended, and didn’t get results, so you’re hesitant to try something new.
- You’ve had physical therapy in the past, so you’ve tried the same things, but it’s not working this time.
- You’re currently getting care, and the provider is insisting that you just keep being patient and eventually it will work (without good explanation as to why).
- You’ve had treatment that focuses on only your tight back muscles and stiff joints, and does not address THE REASONS that the muscles and joints are stiff in the first place.
- You have not addressed the hips, or activating the right muscles in your back.
- You have a weak multifidus.
“What Can I Do About My Back Pain Right Now?”
- The best thing that you can do is decide to get help from an expert. With all the options out there, it’s difficult to find someone reliable who you can trust. Which is why we offer a non-committal Discovery Visit option. You can see more below.
- Whatever you do, keep moving. Don’t let things stiffen up and get worse.
- Stay hydrated. Especially in Phoenix during the hotter months of the year. We need about ½ our body weight in ounces each day. Add 10% if you’re active.
- Try sleeping with a pillow underneath your legs if you sleep on your back, or between your legs if you sleep on your side.
- Stop stretching into your pain. If you’ve been stretching your back and it helps for a little while, then stiffens back up this is NOT the solution, and you might be prolonging it.
- Request our Free Report: How To Get Rid Of Back Pain Without Risking Surgery or Taking Pills. It reveals 9 things you can do IMMEDIATELY to start easing your back pain. Many of these you’ll be surprised your doctor hasn’t already told you.
- Watch Doug’s Story Below: Sometimes it just takes knowing that someone else has had excruciating back pain and come out on the other side of it, to know that your back pain can be solved.
