Does physiotherapy treat spondylolysis?

Spondylolysis is a stress-related defect in a small bridge of bone at the back of a vertebra, often in the lower spine. It can cause local back pain that worsens with extension, twisting or repeated loading. Some people have few symptoms, while others need a period of carefully adjusted activity.

Assessment helps identify painful movements, hip and trunk strength, flexibility, posture and sport or work demands. The result guides whether rehabilitation should focus first on protection, then on controlled conditioning.

Early care may involve stopping or reducing the movements that repeatedly load the painful area. As symptoms settle, a physiotherapist may introduce gentle movement, trunk and hip strengthening, posture practice, and a gradual return to lifting, running or sport. The increase should be based on symptoms and clinical review, not on a fixed timetable.

Avoid testing the painful movement repeatedly to see whether the area has healed. Follow the prescribed progression and report pain that lingers or spreads into a leg.

Arrange medical review for persistent back pain, pain after an injury, or symptoms that do not improve with activity modification. Seek urgent care for new leg weakness, loss of bladder or bowel control, numbness around the saddle area, or severe pain with fever or feeling unwell.

Ask which activities are safe now, how recovery will be monitored, what pain response is acceptable after exercise, and when impact or spinal extension can be reintroduced. Ask whether leg symptoms suggest a related vertebral slip or nerve problem.