Online physical therapy · Back Pain
Work one-on-one with a physical therapist by video and follow a plan built for your back, at home, without the drive to a clinic.
Some back pain needs a medical exam the same day. Go to urgent care or the emergency room if your back pain comes with:
If anything like this comes up during your plan, your physical therapist will tell you to get it checked.
A short follow-along exercise from Dr. Alex, the kind our back plans start with. We’ll email it to you right away.
Clinical guidelines for low back pain put movement first: the American College of Physicians recommends starting with non-drug treatments such as exercise. Your plan usually moves through four stages.
Gentle movement your back tolerates, positions that ease the pain, and changes to how you sit, sleep and lift for now.
The bending, twisting and getting up from the floor you've been avoiding, a little at a time.
Your deep core, hips and back, so they can handle groceries, kids, a shovel or a golf swing.
Then a routine you can keep on your own, so you're not starting over at the next flare.
At your first visit (the Body Assessment), your physical therapist asks how the pain started and what makes it better or worse, then watches you move by video: bending, standing up from a chair, walking, lying down. A physical therapist doesn’t diagnose disease; what we find is which movements your back tolerates now, which it doesn’t yet, and how to build from one to the other.
Often after lifting, shoveling, yard work or a long drive.
Sometimes with pain into the buttock or leg. Can a herniated disc heal on its own?
Nerve pain down the leg from a nerve irritated where it leaves the spine.
Stiffness and pain that build through the day.
Hips and trunk muscles that can't support the load, so the pain keeps coming back.
Changes in load, hormones and activity during and after pregnancy, and around menopause.
Many episodes of low back pain improve within a few weeks, especially when you stay gently active. Pain that has lasted for months, keeps returning, or travels down the leg usually takes longer, and that’s where a structured plan helps most.
Your 8-week plan starts from where you are and changes at every check-in. Every back is different, so we won’t promise a timeline, but we will tell you honestly what we see.
Hurt it shoveling? Start here: I hurt my back shoveling snow: now what?
$489 for 8 weeks, about $61 a week
No referral needed. HSA and FSA accepted. Less than the cost of two traditional clinic visits.
Step 1
Talk about what hurts and what you want to get back to.
Step 2
30 minutes by video, from home, in clothes you can move in.
Step 3
Daily exercises in the app, starting the next day.
Step 4
Short video visits whenever something changes.
Dr. Alex is the physical therapist behind motivPT. He works with you by video, watches how you move, and adjusts your plan as you go. Meet Dr. Alex
Emily, a busy mom, worked with motivPT on chronic back pain. Read Emily’s story
For most back pain, the treatment is exercise and education, and both can be delivered by video. Your therapist watches you move on camera, adjusts each exercise and changes the plan as you improve.
No referral is needed. Start with a free 15-minute consult.
Yes. motivPT accepts HSA and FSA cards.
Most back programs start with a floor, a chair and a wall. Your plan includes a FitKit with the equipment it needs.
Many people with a herniated disc or sciatica do well with physical therapy. Your therapist adjusts the plan to how your symptoms behave and will tell you if something needs a doctor first.
Short rest after a flare can help, but long rest tends to leave backs stiffer and weaker. Gentle movement at a level that doesn't flare the pain is usually better, and your therapist shows you where that level is.
Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Also: neck pain and headaches · knee pain · all conditions
Who we help: adults 60 and older · families helping a parent · recovery after surgery
Book a free 15-minute consult. We’ll ask what’s going on and tell you honestly whether online PT is a good fit.
Seeing patients in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
