Low Back Pain Treatment Portland

Targeted massage therapy for lasting relief from low-back pain and restricted movement

Low Back Pain Treatment in Portland

Low-back pain can affect nearly every part of daily life—from sitting and sleeping to working, exercising, and simply moving comfortably.

It is also an enormous healthcare problem. In a major analysis of U.S. healthcare spending, low-back and neck pain combined accounted for an estimated $134.5 billion in healthcare spending in 2016—the highest of the 154 health conditions studied.

Yet low-back pain is not one single condition, and the area that hurts is not always the only area that deserves attention.

At Precision Healing, our approach is to look more carefully at your individual symptoms, movement, and muscular system to determine where therapeutic massage may be most usefu

A More Precise Approach to Low Back Pain

There are many possible contributors to low-back pain. Muscles of the low back may be involved, but the hips, gluteal muscles, pelvis, abdominal wall, and other surrounding tissues can also influence pain and movement.

This is why we don’t use the same massage routine for every person with back pain.

Our therapists use a detailed, individualized approach influenced by the principles of Precision Neuromuscular Therapy. Treatment may include neuromuscular therapy, trigger-point work, deep-tissue techniques, movement assessment, and other focused soft-tissue methods.

More importantly, we pay attention to how your body responds.

Does treating a particular area decrease your symptoms? Does movement become easier? Does your range of motion change?

Those responses help guide what we do next.

When Massage May Not Be Appropriate

Not all back pain is muscular or appropriate for massage therapy.

New or unexplained severe pain, significant trauma, progressive weakness or numbness, changes in bowel or bladder control, fever, or other concerning symptoms should be evaluated by an appropriate healthcare provider.

Our role is not to diagnose spinal or medical conditions. When your symptoms appear to fall outside the appropriate scope of massage therapy, we will encourage you to seek additional evaluation.

Call or text us at 503-477-2463 and we’ll help you choose the right service.

What Low Back Pain Massage May Include

Depending on your symptoms and preferences, your session may incorporate:

  • Neuromuscular therapy
  • Trigger-point therapy
  • Focused deep-tissue massage
  • Myofascial techniques
  • Movement and range-of-motion assessment
  • Client education
  • Work to the hips, gluteal muscles, and other related areas

Many low-back pain sessions are scheduled as Integrative Therapeutic Massage, allowing your therapist to combine techniques rather than limiting treatment to one massage style.

Massage Is an Underused Option for Low Back Pain

Low-back pain is frequently treated with medications, imaging, injections, rehabilitation, and—in some cases—surgery. These approaches can be appropriate and necessary depending on the cause of the pain.

But conservative, non-drug options also have an important place in low-back pain care.

The American College of Physicians includes massage as a non-drug treatment option for acute and subacute low-back pain, and research has found that massage can provide short-term improvements in pain and function for some people.

Massage isn’t the answer to every type of back pain. But when muscular tension, soft-tissue sensitivity, or restricted movement are contributing to your symptoms, skilled therapeutic massage may be a valuable part of your care.

The Painful Spot Isn’t Always the Problem

One of the most important principles behind our treatment approach is simple:

Where you feel pain doesn’t always tell us where treatment should begin.

A painful low back may be influenced by muscular tension or movement restrictions elsewhere. Instead of simply applying deeper pressure to the painful area, we look at the larger pattern.

Your therapist may explore the muscles surrounding the hips, pelvis, gluteal region, and spine while continually checking whether treatment changes your symptoms.

This problem-solving approach allows the session to be much more specific to you.

Schedule an Integrative Masssage

Move With Less Pain