Low back pain

What it feels like

Low back pain can show up as a dull ache after you sit too long, a sharp catch when you bend to tie a shoe, or stiffness that keeps you rolling over carefully in bed. Some people feel it band across the belt line; others feel it lower, near the pelvis, or trailing into the hip. It often gets louder with a long drive, a soft mattress, or the second half of a workday spent on your feet. When back pain lingers past a few weeks, it starts stealing the small things — the walk after dinner, the laundry basket, sleeping through the night — and that loss of daily function is exactly what we build a plan around.

What we check at your evaluation

Your visit starts with your story: what triggered it, what makes it better or worse, what you have already tried, and what you want to be doing again. A hands-on exam looks at how your spine, hips, and core move together, where tenderness sits, and whether the pain has any nerve component reaching into the leg. We review any imaging you bring and decide whether new imaging or labs would actually change the plan — no tests just to run tests. Because low back pain is rarely one thing, we look for the mix that fits you: mechanical, muscular, nerve-related, sleep- and stress-related, or a combination.

Treatment options we offer

Every plan is individualized after a clinician evaluation. Depending on your situation your plan may draw from steroid or trigger-point injections, guided physical therapy, acupuncture, laser therapy, StemWave (non-invasive shockwave), and — where clinically appropriate and consistent with Maryland law and CDC guidelines — monitored medication management. Treatment plans are set only after clinical evaluation; no outcome is guaranteed.

Treatment plans are set only after clinical evaluation. No outcome is guaranteed.

Frequently asked