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Low Back Pain Relief in Toronto

Care for low back pain that starts with understanding why it is happening.

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A therapist providing hands-on treatment
A person performing a controlled lower back mobility exercise

What Causes Low Back Pain?

Low back pain is rarely one thing. It can come from a disc, a joint, muscle guarding after a strain, or simply a body that has been held in one position for too long.

Most of the low back pain we see is mechanical, which means it relates to how the area is loaded and how it moves. That is useful, because it is something an assessment can find and a plan can change.

Physiotherapist performing manual therapy on a patient's lower back while the patient lies face-down on a treatment table in a clinical room in Toronto

What It Often Feels Like

People describe it as a deep ache across the belt line, a sharp catch when bending or twisting, or stiffness that is worst first thing in the morning and eases once they get going.

Some find sitting the hardest part. Others cannot stand still for long. Which one you are tells us something about what is driving it.

Physiotherapist performing a leg flexibility assessment on a male patient lying on a blue treatment table in a bright clinic room in Toronto

Our Approach to Low Back Care

We start with an assessment: how you bend, rotate and load the area, and what reproduces your symptoms.

  • Hands-on treatment to settle the painful area
  • Movement and strength work matched to what the assessment found
  • Practical changes to how you sit, lift and train while you recover

You will leave the first visit knowing what we think is going on and what the plan is.

A physiotherapist guiding a patient through a stretching exercise in a bright clinical treatment room in Toronto

How We Assess Low Back Pain

The assessment is the part that decides everything else. We take a history first: when it started, what you were doing, what makes it worse, whether it refers into the leg, and whether anything has changed with bladder, bowel or strength, because that last group needs a different pathway.

Then we watch you move. Bending forward and back, rotating, loading one leg at a time. We test the joints segment by segment, check how the hips and mid back are contributing, and look at the muscles that should be sharing the load and are not.

A healthcare professional in a light blue v-neck uniform demonstrating a stretching technique by holding a black compression sleeve along their leg, Toronto

What Treatment Looks Like

Early on the priority is getting you comfortable enough to move and sleep. That usually means hands-on treatment to the restricted segments, soft tissue work where things have guarded up, and two or three positions or movements you can use at home when it flares.

As symptoms settle the balance shifts. Hands-on work reduces, loading increases, and we build the hips, trunk and back to handle what your day and your training actually ask of them. Most people are doing some form of strength work within the first few visits, scaled to what is tolerable.

Our Team

Practitioners Who Help with Low Back Pain

Dr. Elise Tremblay, Chiropractor at Riverstone Health & Movement in Toronto

Dr. Elise Tremblay

Chiropractor

Elise looks at posture and the daily habits behind neck pain, headaches and low back pain, and treats the whole picture.
Read Dr. Elise's full bio
Renata Silva, Registered Physiotherapist at Riverstone Health & Movement in Toronto

Renata Silva

Registered Physiotherapist

Renata works with people managing low back pain and sciatica, and with older adults who want to keep their balance and confidence.
Read Renata's full bio
Sam Whitfield, Registered Massage Therapist at Riverstone Health & Movement in Toronto

Sam Whitfield

Registered Massage Therapist

Sam treats people who train, people who are pregnant, and people whose backs have had enough of the week.
Read Sam's full bio

Common Questions About Low Back Pain

How long until low back pain improves?

It varies by person and cause. After your assessment we will give you an honest, individual picture.

Will I get exercises to do at home?

Usually yes, a short, doable plan that fits your week beats a long one you will not keep up.

Book Low Back Pain Care in Toronto

Most people with low back pain do not need imaging, and the assessment tells us whether you are one of the exceptions. Bring anything you already have from another provider and we will work from it.

Book an Assessment