Physical Therapy in Decatur and Atlanta

Physical therapy in Decatur and Atlanta

When it comes to the treatment of neck and back pain, conventional physical therapy programs can prove very ineffective for many spinal pain patients. The focus on core strengthening is not the most effective way to treat most spines that are suffering from acute or chronic pain. Before embarking on core strengthening, you have the get the pain better. And getting the pain better requires decompressing the sources of pain in the spine, i.e. the discs, joints, and nerves. After the pain is better, then core strengthening should be done in order to improve the tolerance to physical demands and to raise the threshold for injury and pain in the future. In fact, done effectively it has been proven that a stronger spine will have fewer future episodes of pain, and the average pain levels will be progressively reduced. I explain more in my video on core strengthening. While core strengthening can protect your spine from insult, it does not address the problem. The problem and cause of most difficult spinal pain is compression of the spine. This requires direct redress in the way of spinal decompression treatment. That is why conventional physical therapy fails so many patients with neck and back pain. Physical therapy in Decatur and Atlanta.

Manual Therapy, including A.R.T.
SpineMED spinal decompression (www.spinemed.com)
Conventional exercises
Isotonic exercises
Passive modalities
Home exercise program
Ergonomic and ADL instruction
Cold laser therapy

We specialize in difficult neck and back pain from herniated discs, degenerated discs, sciatica and stenosis. Browse our website to learn more about the most effective, non-surgical treatment for neck and back pain- called spinal decompression treatment. If you have spinal pain, we encourage you to read and view more information on our website about this treatment. You can also watch videos of someone receiving treatment for the neck and low back. Physical therapy in Decatur and Atlanta.

You can also find numerous videos on a host of Decatur physical therapy topics including herniated discs, degenerated discs, sciatica, spinal stenosis, physical therapy, chiropractic, neck and back surgery, pain management, etc.

FAQ

How does physical therapy help sciatica?

Physical therapy treatments for sciatica can vary. Sciatica is almost always caused by a disc that is bulging or herniated, and is pinching a nerve root.

Whatever the treatment, the only thing that will help the problem is to get the disc off of the nerve root. There is no other solution to the problem.

The most effective, if not the only, way to get the disc off of the nerve root, is to decompress or traction the spine, so that the disc will move off of the nerve root. And in my 35 years of clinical experience, which includes orthopedics, physical medicine, physical therapy and neurosurgery, the most effective way to do this is with a well-engineered, computerized, spinal decompression table.

How does physical therapy differ for older adults?

Neck and back problems tend to increase with age. The reason is that most spines, over time, will degenerate and weaken. But this is highly variable and quite mutable too. Present research suggests that genetics plays a large role in degeneration, but I think potent interventions can mitigate that considerably.
Most of the people that I treat will get over their pain, and stay better for many months or several years. If the person is older, with a lot of degeneration (arthritis), it is more likely they will have a recurrence of pain and need occasional treatment. But that is usually not very often.

Will I definitely improve with therapy?

The likelihood that you improve to your satisfaction is about 85%. Among all those who seek treatment for a significant neck or back problem, there will be those who need referral elsewhere, such as pain management or surgery. My job is to determine, as soon as possible, how best to help you, and get that done ASAP. Infrequently, that means referral for other treatments. Because of Dr. Castanet’s experience in orthopedics, physical therapy, physical medicine and neurosurgery, he can help you find a solution to your problem ASAP. Of course, surgery is a “last resort”, but that doesn’t mean never, and it doesn’t mean wasting your time and money figuring that out. And Dr. Castanet works with many superior and ethical specialists to help you best.