Physiotherapy Could Help You Avoid Surgery Altogether!

Jun 1, 2023

Back Pain Relief, Physiotherapy

Are you frustrated by your recurring pain? Do you feel as if you’re out of options and are now contemplating surgery? At MSK Health and Performance Clinics, our physiotherapists will identify the root cause of your pain and give you the tools to resolve it and prevent it from returning!

Too often, people with back pain misinterpret the signals their body sends and try to do too much or avoid all activity and do too little. The key is restoring mobility and function, whether the condition is acute or chronic. Until you restore normal function, tissue healing will not occur, and the problem will persist.

Fortunately, at MSK Health and Performance Clinics , we know how to strike the right balance and can help you resolve your pain and restore your function so you can get back to doing what you love!

Request an appointment with one of our specialists today, and let us help you get back to your old (pain-free) life!

Common risk factors for back pain

The risk factors often associated with back pain are:

• Improper posture or prolonged positions (i.e., prolonged sitting)
• Spinal muscle and tissue damage (i.e., lifting strains or trauma from accidents)
• Limited hip, spine, and pelvis mobility – Limited muscle flexibility
• Spinal/pelvic muscle weaknesses (aka “core” weakness)
• Poor abdominal, pelvic and back muscle coordination (i.e., compensations due to injury)

Physiotherapy can help you identify what is causing your back pain and resolve it successfully. The combination of education and activity modification can help set the stage for a successful outcome.

Building a Foundation of Strength: The Role of Your Core

One of the most powerful tools physiotherapy uses to help you avoid surgery is a focus on building foundational strength, starting with your core.

What is the Core? Many people think of the core as just the “six-pack” abdominal muscles. However, your true core is a complex system of deep muscles in your abdomen, back, and pelvic floor. Think of it as a natural corset or a supportive cylinder that wraps around your spine and pelvis. A strong, stable core provides the foundation for all your movements.

How Core Strength Helps Prevent the Need for Surgery

When your core is weak, other parts of your body—like the ligaments in your back, the cartilage in your hips, or the joints in your knees—are forced to take on extra stress. Over time, this can lead to injury, degeneration, and pain that might eventually lead a surgeon to recommend an operation.

Our physiotherapists and chiropractors focus on core strengthening to:

• Stabilize the Spine: A strong core provides robust support for your vertebrae and discs, which is often the key to resolving chronic back pain and sciatica without surgical intervention.
• Improve Posture and Body Mechanics: By teaching you how to engage your core, we help correct postural imbalances that strain your joints and lead to conditions like degenerative disc disease.
• Enhance Balance and Reduce Injury Risk: A stable core is essential for good balance, reducing your risk of falls or other injuries that could require surgery.

Through a personalized program of targeted exercises, we can help you build the foundational core strength necessary to support your body, alleviate pain, which is a crucial step in avoiding invasive procedures.

Is surgery really the best option?

According to JOSPT, around 1.5 billion people worldwide are affected by musculoskeletal conditions, with low back pain and neck pain being some of the most common causes of disability. Since 2010, the burden of musculoskeletal conditions has increased by 20%, and low back pain is among the top ten catalysts of the rising global disease burden.

Many individuals feel as if surgery is the answer to their pain, but the truth is that this treatment technique should be looked at as a last resort. There are many non-surgical and non-invasive ways to treat back pain, and these techniques often produce better results.

In a study titled, “Benefits and Harms of Interventions With Surgery Compared to Interventions Without Surgery for Musculoskeletal Conditions,” published on JOSPT, researchers concluded:

“For many conditions, best practice non-surgical interventions are viable alternatives to surgery. Even for patients where non-surgical treatment is not sufficiently effective, evidence supporting the effects of surgery is missing. For some conditions, surgery is even recommended against by clinical guidelines and does not provide additional benefit to non-surgical treatment.”

How should I treat my pain with physiotherapy?

Since surgery isn’t always a viable treatment option, you may be wondering what your next steps are. The good news is that back pain is entirely treatable through physiotherapy.

Our clinic is proud to offer the following modalities:

If you’re experiencing back pain, seeing a physiotherapist as soon as possible is essential, so your issue does not progress into something more serious. Our team of experts will create a plan that works for you and targets your pain head-on!

What can I expect in physiotherapy in Vancouver & Burnaby?

Too often, people wait until their pain is severe or don’t exercise regularly throughout the year, which leads to more complications and possible injuries. Our team will thoroughly evaluate the injury’s severity and identify any other weaknesses or limitations that may affect your function and recovery ability.

We will use this information to develop a comprehensive program that includes targeted manual techniques, mobility work, strengthening, and appropriate pain relief techniques for the individual patient.

Our therapeutic interventions will start with pain management and restoring mobility to the injured area. Next, we will focus on progressing your strength and dynamic stability exercises designed to restore function and prevent injuries. We will also incorporate body mechanics and proper lifting exercises to stimulate your nervous system and help ensure you can adequately perform the tasks you need to avoid an injury.

Ready for relief? Contact us today!

Don’t allow back pain to slow you down any longer! Non-surgical relief is available at MSK Health and Performance Clinics; contact our clinic today to get started!