Healing without surgery

PERRYSBURG, Ohio - If you experience back pain, getting rid of it can be tough.

Low back pain can be caused by a number of things. If you were in an accident or suffered a sports-related injury, area physical therapists say three components can help get you back to normal without surgery.

"We're focusing on fixing the cause of the problem," said Ron Schmidt, Holiday Park Physical Rehab. "We're not focusing on just treating the symptoms."

Physical therapists at Holiday Park Physical Rehab in Perrysburg start with spinal decompression to treat back pain. They use one of two machines - either the DRX-9000 or the VAX-D.

"The use of a decompression machine to relieve pressure on a disc of soft tissue that is causing pain in the low back," said Brad Good, physical therapist assistant.

The second part is aquatic exercise.

"It's a 91 degree pool, so there is neutral warmth, the muscles are allowed to relax and we use it because of it's gravity-neutral environment," said Jon Hegemier, physical therapist.

Patients hang in the deep water with weights on their ankles and floaties under their arms.

"Once we decompress the disc it's just a mild gentle way to maintain it," Hegemier said. "And when you maintain that decompressed state of the disc it gives it more quality healing time. When astronauts went into space with back pain their pain reduced while they were in space. So we're mimicking the anti-gravity environment of space in our therapeutic pools to decompress the spine."

The third and probably most important part of therapy is home exercise. That can be stretching or even laying on your stomach.

Treatment can take anywhere from six to 10 weeks to six to nine months, depending on the injury.