Back Pain Treatment in Springdale, AR
Most back pain is not a damaged spine. It is a spine that is being asked to do work the hips, the core or the mid-back are not helping with.
That is why rest tends to fail. The tissue calms down, nothing about the way you load has changed, and the next heavy week brings it right back.
What it feels like
- A deep ache across the low back that builds through the day
- Sharp catching when you bend to pick something off the floor
- Stiffness for the first twenty minutes out of bed
- Pain that spikes after sitting in the truck or at a desk
- Fear of deadlifting, squatting or picking up your kid
What usually causes it
- Hips that do not extend, so the low back makes up the range
- A mid-back that barely rotates, pushing rotation lower down
- Trunk strength that never got rebuilt after an old episode
- Load added faster than tissue capacity grew
- Long static positions with no movement variety
How we assess and treat it
The first hour is assessment: how you hinge, squat, rotate, breathe and brace, plus hands-on testing segment by segment to find what actually reproduces your pain.
Treatment usually combines manual therapy to unlock the stiff segments, dry needling when the surrounding musculature is guarding hard, and immediate loading so the new range gets used, not lost.
You leave the first visit knowing what is driving it and what the plan is. Not a printout — a plan you can explain to someone else.
What a plan of care looks like
- 01
Weeks 1–2
Calm the flare-up and restore the movement you lost. Hands-on work each visit plus two or three exercises you actually do.
- 02
Weeks 3–5
Load the hinge and the trunk progressively. Weight goes up as symptoms go down.
- 03
Weeks 6+
Back to lifting, field work or the job site with a strength program that keeps the capacity you built.
What patients say
“He found what was actually causing my shoulder pain instead of just treating where it hurt.”
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need an MRI before starting physical therapy?
- In most cases, no. Arkansas allows you to see a physical therapist directly. If the exam suggests imaging or a physician referral is needed, we tell you that day.
- Will I have to stop lifting?
- Rarely. We usually modify the lift, the range or the load rather than remove it. Keeping you training is part of the treatment.
- How long until my back feels better?
- Most people notice a change in the first two to three visits. Lasting change comes from the strength work that follows.
- Is the session really a full hour?
- Yes. Sixty minutes, one-on-one, with Dr. Hernandez. No aides and no double-booking.