She Walked In With a Cane—and Left Without Back Pain

A patient recently came to see me with significant pain that was making walking difficult enough that she was relying on a cane.

About a year earlier, she had undergone a lumbar laminectomy for spinal stenosis. Following surgery, however, she developed a new pain on the opposite side from her original symptoms. This pain persisted and became increasingly limiting.

She returned to her surgeon, where the possibility of another surgery was discussed. Before moving forward, she wanted to better understand what was causing this new pain and whether there were other options.

A Different Source of Pain

One of the most important parts of a thorough low back assessment is not assuming that pain in the low back or pelvic region is necessarily coming from the lumbar spine.

During her assessment, we carefully examined the movements, positions and loads that reproduced her symptoms. Her new pain behaved differently from her previous symptoms and appeared to be more consistent with irritation involving the sacroiliac (SI) joint region.

We then tested that hypothesis.

When we provided external stabilization to her pelvis and SI joint region, her familiar pain was no longer present with walking.

She had arrived using a cane because of her pain. By the end of the assessment, she was able to walk without that familiar pain.

That immediate change gave us valuable information and, importantly, a different direction to pursue.

Turning the Assessment Into a Plan

I provided her with an SI belt so she could use the same stabilization strategy at home. We then began an individualized exercise program aimed at improving strength, control and stability around the pelvis and trunk.

The goal wasn't simply to rely on the belt for relief. It was to use what we learned during the assessment to guide a longer-term strategy for improving her capacity and gradually reducing her reliance on external support.

Why This Case Matters

A history of spinal stenosis and lumbar surgery is important—but it doesn't necessarily mean that every new episode of pain is coming from the same source.

Pain can change. The factors contributing to it can change. And that's why reassessment matters.

Rather than assuming that her new pain was another lumbar spine problem, we took the time to investigate how her symptoms behaved and what changed them.

For this patient, that process identified a strategy that changed her symptoms immediately and gave us a clear direction for rehabilitation.

At Atlantic Low Back Solutions, that's the purpose of a comprehensive assessment: to better understand what is contributing to your pain today and use those findings to develop a practical path forward.

Before deciding what to do about your back pain, first understand what's contributing to it.

Individual results vary. This case is shared for educational purposes and does not mean that all low back or SI joint-region pain will respond in the same way.