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How do you manage your diabetes or heart disease? You are likely measuring your blood sugar, cholesterol, or blood pressure.

How about your back pain? It is just as important to measure your progress when undergoing a rehabilitation regimen. Measurement means acquiring both patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and clinician-based outcomes (CBOs). It is important to follow standardized PROs to follow patient’s perception of their progress. When undergoing rehabilitation, it is also important for clinicians to measure and follow clinical progress closely. One important factor to measure is strength. Strengthening of the neck or low back extensors has been shown to significantly reduce pain and improve function in those suffering from chronic back and neck pain. Exercise is the only meaningful way to increase functional capacity.

We know that muscles respond to progressive overload. To increase the load on muscles, we need to isolate the muscles, then to increase the intensity, frequency, or duration of movement to exceed normal activity level. In our SpineZone Medical Fitness clinics, we have seen how this objective increase in strength is correlated with the improvement in patient-reported outcomes, function, and spinal health.