Suffering from back pain can be one of the most debilitating conditions a person can experience. At ATI Physical Therapy, we have treated thousands of patients with various back diagnoses.
Some of the most common conditions and causes for those patients have been:
Common Conditions:
- Degenerative Disc Disease
- Disc Herniation
- Spinal Stenosis
- Osteoporosis
- Scoliosis
- Compression Fractures
Common Causes:
- Improper lifting techniques
- Disc degeneration
- Weak core
- Lack of exercise
- Doing excessive physical activities while not conditioned
- Prolonged sitting/poor posture
These common causes and conditions impact more people than you may realize. In fact, it's estimated that over 30 million people suffer from some type of back pain. Here are some interesting statistics about this massive body part:
- 85% of Olympic athletes have lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration or disc herniation.
- In 2007 alone, about 27 million U.S. adults aged 18 or older (11% of the total adult population) reported having back pain, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
- 54% of Americans who experience low back pain spend the majority of their workday sitting.
- Approximately 50% of all pregnant women will have a significant complaint of backache.
- More than one in three adults say back pain impacts everyday activities, including sleep.
Even some of our favorite celebrities and athletes have suffered from back injuries:
- George Clooney (actor): Tore the dura – the wrap around the spine that holds in spinal fluid – while filming Syriana.
- Tony Romo (professional football player): Fractured two transverse processes – the small bones on the outside of the back vertebrae.
- Jennifer Grey (actor): Suffered chronic pain for years after a neck injury from a 1987 car accident.
- Dwight Howard (professional basketball player): Suffered from radiculopathy, an injury to a nerve root resulting from inflammation in the area or direct compression on the root itself, caused by a herniated disc.
When weighing your treatment options for back pain, consider physical therapy. Physical therapy offers a wide variety of treatment options including strengthening, flexibility assessments, ergonomics training, and sustainable home exercise programs. Stop in or call any ATI location for a complimentary injury screen or to learn more about how physical therapy can help you overcome your back pain. Click here to schedule a complimentary injury screen.