Lumbar Joint Mobilisation.

Hello.
Back pain loss is a goal many of us strive toward, sometimes on a daily basis.

The Glouster Daily Times has an interesting article dealing woth lower back pain anf disks, please take your time and read the whole article.


Lumbar joint mobilization can get your back on track

On the Mend
Joe Divincenzo


Have you been diagnosed with a bulging disc in your lower back? Have you ever had pain that radiates into your leg? Does it take an hour or more for you to 'straighten up' in the morning when first getting out of bed? If you answered yes to any of these questions, it might be time for a Physical Therapy (PT) evaluation to see if you're a candidate for lumbar joint mobilization.

Signs and symptoms of a disc bulge are fairly easy to recognize. Classically, patients with a disc bulge often cannot extend their lumbar spine (bend backwards). If you have pain that is typically on one side more than another, you will often have trouble running your arm down the side of your leg on that particular side. Also, forward bending and twisting your trunk away from the side of pain will also elicit a pain response in someone with a disc bulge.

Many patients with bulging lumbar discs suffer from intense amounts of pain. Even the wide array of medical interventions such as cortisone injections, radiofrequency ablation, surgery and medication management frequently fail to adequately manage a patient's pain.

Physical therapy is often the most effective form of treatment for patients with low back pain stemming from a disc bulge. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to matter if that pain is of a chronic nature, or if it is acute. PT can usually remedy issues such as stiffness, strength and pain with a series of complex mobilizations.

Joint mobilization is a treatment technique used frequently by physical therapists. It involves moving the surface of one joint on the surface of another joint. Often, joint mobilization is used to achieve a specific purpose. Examples of this include loosening of a stiff shoulder or knee, or alleviating a neck lock after sleeping the wrong way.

Mobilization of the lumbar spine serves many purposes in a patient with a bulging disc. A bulging disc is characterized as a 'space-occupying lesion' (something that takes up space where it shouldn't). Space occupying lesions cause impairments in a person's ability to move, often resulting in pain and stiffness — the cardinal signs of a disc bulge.

By mobilizing the vertebrae and disc that surround the sensitive nerve endings in the back, PT is able to alleviate pain associated with a disc bulge. These mobilizations are directed not only at the vertebrae, but also the muscles, tendons and ligaments which play a role in pain generation.

Your initial evaluation in a physical therapy clinic will consist of a number of highly specialized mobility tests. Some of these tests both cause and relieve pain, so do not be surprised if one intervention is painful and the next makes you feel better. Gathering this baseline information is vital to establishing a full, comprehensive mobilization program that will get you back to normal function.

The most common form of joint mobilization is to find the painful vertebrae and mobilize it to your tolerance. Within the treatment, the vertebrae should transition from painful to feeling normal, and in nearly all cases, feeling loose. To reap the benefits of skilled joint mobilization, a physical therapist may need to spend a substantial amount of time executing specific techniques. The average treatment lasts anywhere from ten to thirty minutes. Treatments may initially be uncomfortable, but should improve by the end of the visit.

For patients that have failed other means of conservative or surgical management, lumbar joint mobilization may be the treatment option for you. Nearly all mobilizations can be transformed into exercises to do at home, so you should leave the clinic able to keep pain at bay on your own. If your back pain persists, lumbar joint mobilization may get your back on track.

More information on back pain loss and exercise appeaes in www.backpainloss.com
Have a look
Paul