Look Who it Was Random video

Working on Your Back Pain

48 views · Published 10 August 2015 · 1:45 · Indexed 20 October 2026

Channel: Lee Health · 2015 · Science & Technology

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Chronic back pain can be crippling and adding to the tension: the thought of surgery. A new study may provide some comfort; it found an alternative when it comes to a common condition.

“With the age population group that we have here in Fort Myers, we see a lot of arthritis and the spinal stenosis, very common,” says Lee Memorial Health System physiatrist Dr. Donna Lanthier. 

Dr. Donna Lanthier leads the team at Lee Memorial Health System’s Spine Center, an outpatient center devoted to diagnosing and treating back pain.

“We look at what they’d like to accomplish and try to get them back to that level of function,” says Dr. Lanthier. 

One aspect of care delivered here is delivering results.

The key to resolving back pain may be working at it. Especially when it comes to spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal canal, which puts pressure on the low back. 

“We try to do some diagnostic tests, special tests for neurological tension things like that to try to develop an idea of what’s going on with the patient. Those are the things we’re trying to find out in our evaluation to try to determine what we can actually do for the patient,” says Tom Reid, who is a physical therapist with Lee Memorial Health System. 

A study out of the University of Pittsburgh School of Health Sciences looked at patients scheduled for surgery and put half of them through physical therapy instead. Months later, the outcomes were considered equal.

“There’s definitely patients out there that have been so accustomed to getting pain relief from pills that they’ve never really thought about the other side of it,” says Reid. 

Another benefit of therapy is that it teaches self-management, which can last a lifetime.

“Surgery is, should be, a last resort. Most people don’t want to have to have that happen,” says Reid. 

With professional guidance, they may be able to avoid an operation, if they are willing to work on their pain.


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Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

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