JP Fitness Forums - Personal Training - View Single Post - Should I stick with this PT or move elsewhere?

AceDeuce · 03-09-2008, 10:51 PM

I recently went to a physical therapist in my small town (Mt. Pleasant, Michigan) for my back pain. The lumbar area of my lower back on the right side experiences tightness in the mornings or if I get too intensive with my weightlifting or sit for prolonged periods of time (something I've tried to severely limit). I also recently heard a "crunching" in my upper back as I was doing front barbell split squats. The pain in that area is more acute and intense (probalby a 3 or 4 out of 10) but is only noticeable at all if I hyper extend my thoracic spine over a foam roller or similar device. The upper back injury occured about a month ago and the lower back injury has been on and off for roughly 2 years. I have ceased deadlifting or back squatting for some time now and it never hurts IN the gym, but the tightness will not go away.

The rehab has had me doing 10-15 minutes of electrical stimulation on those areas, followed by a light massage for 10 minutes followed by "therapy" which consists of:

1. Glute bridging (although no instruction was given to me on how to perform it properly...good thing I have some experience here I guess)
2. Prone unilateral leg extensions (I assume to get the glutes firing, although again, I wasn't given much "coaching", rather a simple "lie on your stomache and lift each leg off the ground 10x"
3. Standing hyperextensions with a theraband under my feet and being held at chest level (eek!)
4. Tricep stretching (wtf?)
5. Arm "cycling" on some machine to "loosen up your upper back"

I have 60 days that my insurance will cover the PT so I want the best treatment possible, and although my experience is limited, this does not feel like it is doing "enough", and the fact that they are actually promoting back hyper-extension makes me wary of their methods.

Should I seek another professional? Problem is I live in a small town and there may not be enough qualified people that understand the needs of someone as involved in weightlifting as me. I'm sure if they had it their way I would stop all lifting and just let things rest, but I truly do not feel that is necessary.

Then again maybe this is the introductory steps in the program and it will get more "intensive" later? I guess I was just hoping that my PT might have actually touched a weight in her/his life and could understand where I'm coming from...

Any thoughts? Advice?

03-09-2008, 10:51 PM	#1 (permalink)
AceDeuce Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 81 My Profile	Should I stick with this PT or move elsewhere? I recently went to a physical therapist in my small town (Mt. Pleasant, Michigan) for my back pain. The lumbar area of my lower back on the right side experiences tightness in the mornings or if I get too intensive with my weightlifting or sit for prolonged periods of time (something I've tried to severely limit). I also recently heard a "crunching" in my upper back as I was doing front barbell split squats. The pain in that area is more acute and intense (probalby a 3 or 4 out of 10) but is only noticeable at all if I hyper extend my thoracic spine over a foam roller or similar device. The upper back injury occured about a month ago and the lower back injury has been on and off for roughly 2 years. I have ceased deadlifting or back squatting for some time now and it never hurts IN the gym, but the tightness will not go away. The rehab has had me doing 10-15 minutes of electrical stimulation on those areas, followed by a light massage for 10 minutes followed by "therapy" which consists of: 1. Glute bridging (although no instruction was given to me on how to perform it properly...good thing I have some experience here I guess) 2. Prone unilateral leg extensions (I assume to get the glutes firing, although again, I wasn't given much "coaching", rather a simple "lie on your stomache and lift each leg off the ground 10x" 3. Standing hyperextensions with a theraband under my feet and being held at chest level (eek!) 4. Tricep stretching (wtf?) 5. Arm "cycling" on some machine to "loosen up your upper back" I have 60 days that my insurance will cover the PT so I want the best treatment possible, and although my experience is limited, this does not feel like it is doing "enough", and the fact that they are actually promoting back hyper-extension makes me wary of their methods. Should I seek another professional? Problem is I live in a small town and there may not be enough qualified people that understand the needs of someone as involved in weightlifting as me. I'm sure if they had it their way I would stop all lifting and just let things rest, but I truly do not feel that is necessary. Then again maybe this is the introductory steps in the program and it will get more "intensive" later? I guess I was just hoping that my PT might have actually touched a weight in her/his life and could understand where I'm coming from... Any thoughts? Advice?