BONAVISTA PHYSICAL THERAPY  |  739 Lake Bonavista Dr. SE, Calgary  |  Lower Level of Bonavista Medical Clinic

Low Back, Buttock, Hip Pain or Sciatica?

Low Back Pain is the most common ailment we see in physiotherapy. It often masquerades as pain in the hip, buttock or “sciatica”. Mechanical low back pain affects nearly everyone at some stage of life. 60 -75% of patients that have back pain once will experience recurring problems. The majority of back pain is MECHANICAL. That simply means that there is a problem with the moving parts of the spine. The tissues affected may be the: discs, ligaments, muscles, nerves, or cartilage.
Mechanical pain arises when the soft tissue between two joints of the spine has been over stretched, gets locked up, or in some cases torn. It may start with an incident or for no apparent reason. The pain will be caused or affected by certain positions or movements. According to that logic, it will typically respond well to specific positions or movements. The McKenzie Method of assessment and treatment for low back pain has been proven in the literature to be one of the most effective ways of treating and preventing low back pain. This method promotes the body’s natural potential to heal itself without medication, heat, cold, ultrasound, needles, surgery or a physical dependency on the practitioner. The patient can learn to do these maneuvers themselves, though some “hands-on” by the therapist may be needed to get things started.
Bonavista Physical Therapy is the only clinic in Alberta to be designated a “McKenzie Certified Clinic”. The McKenzie Method (MDT) was originally developed for treatment of sciatica but now can be used to assess and treat any kind of musculoskeletal problems. Many clinicians claim to “do McKenzie” when in fact they are only using a few of the techniques along with other modalities. The research has shown that therapists who have been fully certified in the method (i.e. all 4 courses followed by the exam), have the best results. We are able to identify which patients will respond to this method within the first 1-2 sessions. Those likely to benefit start seeing results in the first session with highly significant pain reduction in back and leg pain within four visits. It does not take weeks of exercise to see results in pain reduction. Techniques and exercises taught in the assessments are tools that patients can use on their own and are able to treat their own pain. The ultimate goal is that the clients become independent and can both prevent and self- treat recurrences. This will minimize the need to see the health care provider, which saves the patient time and money in the long run.

Track Your Recovery!

We have some of the fastest recovery times across North America:

Faster than:

96%
of clinics for
hip injuries

99%
of clinics for
knee injuries

97%
of clinics for
foot/ankle injuries

92%
of clinics for
back/lumbar injuries

Over the past 3 years, we’ve compared our stats to 16.9 million assessments and 19,600 clinicians in over 4,200 clinics. Find out more with Focus on Therapeutic Outcomes (FOTO).

Learn more about how we’re
Pushing the industry

APPOINTMENT HOURS AVAILABLE:
7:30 am – 7:00 pm
Monday – Friday

WEEKEND MASSAGE HOURS:
By Appointment

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