Low Back Pain

Case Description: Pt. is a 53 y/o male who presented to physical therapy with a 30+ yr hx of lower back pain, limiting him in his ability to get out of bed and exhausting him by the end of his work day (manual labor job requiring standing long hours of hard floors and lifting repeatedly).  He was considering surgery after being diagnosed with degenerative disc disease and a low-grade spondylolisthesis, but was hesitant due to a DVT that resulted in PE and hospitalization following a groin injury after a slip and fall ~1 yr prior.  Since his hospitalization he had gained 40 lbs due to inactivity out of work and fear of exercising due to his back. 

Objective Measures: Patient was seen for 12 physical therapy visits over a 2 month period.

Tests and Measures	Initial Evaluation	Day of Discharge from Physical Therapy
VAS for Pain	0-8/10	0-2/10
Oswestry Disability Scale	20% disability	0% disability
Trunk ROM based on expected norms	100% of expected all planes (with accompanying “lightning pain during end ROM FLEX/EXT)	100% for all and non-painful, even when performed
Functional Improvements	“Lightning” pain with bed mobility Exhaustion by end of work dayDifficulty lifting 35 lbsAvoiding exercise for healthDifficulty standing at work	Minimal to no pain transferringOpen to exercise in evening after work (fat tire biking)No exhausted by end of work day and standing without issue

Patient Comments at Discharge: “I feel like I understand the problem with my back so much better than I did before starting PT. I didn’t know what to expect, but Luke helped me to discover that I am stronger and more flexible than I ever thought and that with the tools I’ve gathered at Full potential, I have the ability to improve my mobility and decrease my pain for myself (hopefully for the rest of my life).”

Luke Vander Zouwen, DPT
Full Potential Physical Therapy