Spine Related Back Pain

Spinal stiffness can also be referred to as low back pain with mobility deficits or lumbar facet syndrome. Typically this pain will onset after an awkward movement in which a person lifted and twisted, or lifted something too heavy. The pain often times will be isolated within the low back and will not extend beyond the waist. It will often affect the persons ability to bend forward without pain. The type of pain usually involves one of the deep joints in our lumbar spine called the facet joint.  The facet joint becomes jammed as a result of the movement that caused the injury and as a result it cannot move smoothly. This results in pain and limited motion. This is a very common condition and is treatable in physical therapy. In physical therapy we cannot actually touch the facet joint because it is deep within our spine but we can manipulate and mobilize different parts of the lumbar spine to release this joint. We can also release the muscles around the joint to help release the facet joint. After the joint is released we follow this with mobility and stretching exercises to maintain the smooth motion in the joint. Lumbar facet syndrome tends to respond very well to physical therapy when treated appropriately. Please see photos below for examples of how we treat lumbar facet syndrome in clinic. If you would like to schedule an appointment please reach out to us.