Intermediate Post-Fracture Lumbar Spine Rehabilitation

Lumbar Spine Post-Fracture Intermediate Rehabilitation Program

This program is for people recovering from a lumbar spine fracture who have completed initial protection and early healing and are ready for supervised intermediate rehabilitation. Its goal is to rebuild lumbar stability, mobility, and confidence with everyday movement over six weeks, using graded exercise and education so you can return to daily activities safely. Progression depends on meeting comfort and movement milestones, not on a strict calendar.

Before You Start

This plan is designed to be done under the guidance of your physical therapist or physician, who will confirm it is right for you. Do not start if you have active inflammation, infection, severe osteoporosis, or unassessed movement limits in your back. Always warm up first and stop if pain increases. Seek urgent care for new leg weakness, numbness in the groin area, or loss of bladder or bowel control.

Weekly Structure

The plan runs six weeks with two sessions per week of about twenty minutes each, plus a home program. Weeks one through four follow a phased path: acute protection, early mobility, controlled mobilization, and dynamic stabilization, with the final weeks building functional tolerance. Your therapist decides when you advance based on your symptoms and movement quality, not on time alone. Sessions use a knee brace, cable machine, tennis ball, elliptical, and resistance band.

What a Typical Session Looks Like

Each session starts with a gentle warm-up, such as easy elliptical work or low-load band movements, to prepare your back and hips. Main work includes lumbar stabilization and mobility drills, soft tissue work using the tennis ball, and proprioception and motor control training, with cable or band resistance added as tolerated. Cool-down includes light stretching, gait practice, and a short review of your home exercises so you leave feeling settled, not sore.

Tracking Progress

Your therapist uses the phase milestones to decide when you are ready to move to the next stage, such as pain staying low at rest, improving lumbar motion, and stable core control during low-load tasks. Outcome measures like the pain scale, Oswestry Disability Index, functional movement screen, sit-and-reach, single-leg stance, and neurological screen are repeated to show change over time. Progress is individualized; hitting a milestone early or later is normal.

Recovery and Self-Care

Mild soreness that settles with rest is common, but increasing pain is a signal to ease off and tell your clinician. Keep to your rest and activity balance, use your brace as advised, and avoid heavy lifting or twisting until cleared. Contact your clinician if pain worsens, new leg symptoms appear, or you feel unsteady; seek urgent help for bowel or bladder changes, groin numbness, or sudden weakness.