Active Therapy

Patients who suffer from long-term chronic low back or neck pain become experts at protecting their spine from injury. They naturally look for ways to “guard” the painful area and begin to reduce their physical activities as a protective mechanism. Unfortunately, when you stop using your back or neck because it hurts, the spine loses function (i.e. muscular strength, endurance, range of motion). This is why so many people suffering from chronic low back or neck pain have recurrences of pain. It is also why the pain becomes progressively worse.

When a muscle is not exercised, it begins to undergo a  process called atrophy. Muscle atrophy refers to the wasting or loss of muscle tissue resulting from lack of use. As a muscle atrophies, it becomes smaller in size and is less able to produce maximum force. This makes the muscle less capable of producing enough force to respond to the demands of everyday life.

In addition to muscle atrophy, there are other physiological changes that occur in the spine when it is not being actively used because of pain . The bones of the spine (i.e., vertebrae) can lose their density, which makes them much more susceptible to fracture.

Passive physical therapy treatment programs fail to provide lasting relief because they fail to reverse the negative physiological changes that occur with long-term chronic pain.

Active therapy reverses the negative changes that occur with pain.  Getting the body moving again increases strength and endurance, stabilizing the spine.