As we discussed in our last blog post, there are a number of reasons that people can experience low back pain. These problems can be acute, meaning they have occurred recently (<1 month), to chronic, meaning they have been present for a longer period of time (>3 months). This post focuses on the physical therapy approach to managing acute low back pain. Proper early management of an episode of acute low back pain can set the stage for a successful long term recovery.

Are you one of the 80% of people who will experience some form of low back pain within their lifetime? If so, you have many treatment options. It can be confusing to determine where to start. Physical Therapy as a first line intervention for low back pain has been shown to decrease total medical costs by 19% compared to injection first treatment, and by 75% compared to surgery first treatment (3). In fact, those who began Physical Therapy treatment within 15 days of diagnosis incurred lower treatment costs than those who began later (3).