Intermediate Lumbar Spine Post-Fracture Rehabilitation

Program Overview Intermediate Lumbar Spine Post-Fracture Rehabilitation is a 7-week, clinician-supervised program. It combines hands-on therapy, electrical stimulation, ultrasound, stabilization training with pressure biofeedback, and graded movement to help you safely rebuild strength and confidence after a spinal fracture. Sessions run 4 times per week for about 30 minutes.

Who This Is For and the Goal This program is for people recovering from a lumbar (lower back) fracture who have finished initial protection and are ready to move toward more active rehabilitation at an intermediate pace. The goal is to reduce pain, restore safe spinal movement, retrain the deep muscles that support your spine, and gradually return you to everyday activities—all while protecting the healing fracture.

Before You Start Before beginning, your clinician should confirm your fracture is stable enough for this level of activity. You will need access to a dip-station and a knee-brace as directed, along with a pressure biofeedback unit for stabilization work. Review your personal precautions and any equipment fitting with your physical therapist before your first session.

Safety Notes and When to Stop This program is not appropriate if you have an active infection, acute inflammation, severe osteoporosis, or severe muscle wasting—your clinician will assess this. Stop and contact your clinician if pain steadily increases, you feel new numbness, tingling, or weakness in your legs, or you lose bladder or bowel control. Keep your spine in a neutral, comfortable position during exercises, and never push through sharp or worsening pain.

Weekly Structure You will complete 4 sessions per week for 7 weeks, roughly 30 minutes each. The program moves through two main phases: an early protection-and-pain-control stage (about weeks 1–2) and an early mobilization stage (weeks 3–4), with continued progression through the remaining weeks. Your clinician will guide which phase you are in based on how you respond.

How the Plan Is Organized Each session blends clinician-applied modalities (electrical muscle stimulation, ultrasound, manual therapy) with active exercises you perform, including McKenzie extension movements and stabilization drills using a pressure biofeedback unit. The dip-station and knee-brace are used as directed to support safe, controlled movement. Expect the early weeks to focus on comfort and control, and later weeks to add more movement and endurance as your body allows.

What a Typical Session Looks Like A session usually follows a warm-up, main work, and cool-down pattern. Your clinician leads the hands-on and modality portions while you perform the exercise portions at a comfortable pace. The structure stays consistent, but the specific exercises and intensity adjust as you progress.

Warm-Up, Main Work, and Cool-Down Warm-up includes gentle, pain-free movement and positioning to prepare your spine. Main work combines electrical stimulation and ultrasound at the fracture site, manual therapy for joint mobility, McKenzie extension exercises, and stabilization drills with the pressure biofeedback unit, plus supported activities using the dip-station and knee-brace as your clinician directs. Cool-down focuses on relaxed, supported positions and gentle breathing to help you settle.

Tracking Progress Your clinician will track your progress using standardized measures, including the Oswestry Disability Index for daily function, a pain scale (VAS), the Patient-Specific Functional Scale for activities that matter to you, lumbar range of motion, the Timed Up and Go test, and prone plank hold time. These are repeated at intervals to show change over time.

How Progression Works Progression between phases is based on achieving specific, clinician-checked milestones—such as pain staying controlled, movement improving, and deep muscle control being demonstrated—rather than on the calendar alone. Your outcome measures help confirm that gains are real and guide whether to advance, hold, or adjust the plan. Your clinician makes the final call on each step.

Recovery and Self-Care Between sessions, prioritize rest, gentle daily movement within comfort, and good sleep. Follow any positioning and activity guidance your clinician gives you, and use the knee-brace as directed. Keep a simple note of how you feel after sessions so you can share patterns with your care team.

Pain Management and Red Flags Some mild soreness after activity can be normal, but stop if pain increases or persists. Do not self-adjust medications; discuss pain control with your clinician. Seek urgent care for new leg weakness, numbness, loss of bladder or bowel control, fever, or sudden severe back pain—these are warning signs that need prompt medical review.