What We Treat

Back Pain and Sciatica treatment in Wilmington.

The stiffness when you stand up from the couch. The twinge that decides whether today is a good day. It is fixable, and it starts with a cause-first evaluation, not a guess.

Sciatica Disc pain Morning stiffness Talk to a Specialist

Sound Familiar?

Does this sound like you?

  • Bracing on the sink to stand up straight
  • A burning line down one leg that starts before you are even out of the car
  • The "my back just went out" moment that drops you mid-step
  • Stiff enough at 6am that you plan your first ten minutes around it
  • Pain that shows up right on cue after eight hours in your desk chair
  • Letting your kid pick up their own toy because bending down is not worth the risk

Two or more? Keep reading.

Why It Happens

Back pain is a symptom. Something causes it.

It is almost never just one thing. It is usually some mix of four culprits: an irritated disc sending pain down your leg, spinal joints that got stiff and stopped sharing the load, deep stabilizing muscles that quietly weakened after your last flare-up, and daily habits, how you sit, bend and lift, that keep reloading the same spot before it heals.

None of that shows up on a quick glance. It takes a real, cause-first evaluation to sort out which one is actually driving your pain. That’s why rest, ice, or a generic stretching sheet so often falls short: they treat the symptom, not the source. Find the real cause, and the fix gets obvious.

Physical therapist assessing a patient's low back movement and mobility

The Honest Truth

Waiting on a back doesn’t make it wait on you.

If you keep waiting

  • You move less to avoid it, which weakens the exact muscles that were supposed to protect the area
  • The good side takes over, and now two areas are doing one job badly
  • The nervous system gets better at producing the pain, so less provocation sets it off

If you start this week

  • You stop doing the things you used to enjoy, and stopping is what makes the next flare worse
  • What started as a simple problem picks up two or three complications on the way
  • The fix stays available the whole time. It just takes longer the further you let it run

Nobody regrets starting too early. Every week, someone in our clinic says they regret waiting.

How We Fix It

The same four phases. Built for your back.

Every plan has an endpoint. Here’s what the four phases look like for a low back.

Weeks 1–2

Pain

Calm the pain down.

Settle the pain down first, with hands-on treatment and the loading your back can actually tolerate right now.

Weeks 2–6

Prime

Get your motion back.

Rebuild the motion and the control the back lost, so the strengthening has something to work with.

Weeks 6–10

Perform

Make it strong enough to trust.

Load it properly, and take the back back to the thing you actually want to do rather than to a generic exercise sheet.

Weeks 10+

Prevent

Return better than before.

Keep it. You leave with the small amount of work that holds the result, and a clear endpoint rather than an open tab.

I had such a great experience at AIM Physical Therapy working with Kinley for my knee pain. Before coming to AIM, running felt impossible and it was also really effecting my job, but now I’m back to running again and I couldn’t be happier! Kinley was incredibly knowledgeable, supportive, and encouraging throughout the entire process. She really took the time to understand what I needed and pushed me just the right amount to help me improve without feeling overwhelmed. You can tell she really cares about her job and her patients. The environment at AIM is also such a big part of what makes it special, it's fun, positive, and motivating. All of the staff are friendly, welcoming, and clearly care about their patients. It made coming to appointments something I actually looked forward to. I’m so grateful for the care I received here and would highly recommend AIM Physical Therapy to anyone dealing with an injury or pain!

Christian H. · Back pain and sciatica · via Google

Related Conditions

Pain rarely stays in one place.

Compensation patterns often show up nearby. Here’s what else we treat.

1

Neck Pain

That 3pm headache that starts in your neck and ends your afternoon.

Learn More 2

Hip & Knee Pain

That pinch getting out of the car, or the stairs you now take one at a time.

Learn More 3

Shoulder Pain

Reaching for the top shelf and stopping halfway, wincing.

Learn More

Questions, Answered

What people ask before booking for back pain.

Usually not, and it is rarely the first step. Imaging is useful when it would change the plan, and a lot of the time it does not: scans routinely show wear and tear in people who have no pain at all. A hands-on evaluation tells us how you actually move, which is what the treatment is built on. If your case does warrant imaging or a specialist, we will say so and help you get there.

Yes, in most cases movement helps more than rest does. Hurt doesn’t always mean harm, total rest tends to make a back stiffer and weaker, which sets up the next flare-up. The key is dosing the right movement for your specific back, which is exactly what a Doctor of PT sorts out at your evaluation, then progresses safely as you improve.

That depends on what the evaluation finds, and you will get a straight answer at that first visit rather than an open-ended course of care. Every plan here has a defined endpoint, and we tell you what it is before you commit to it.



Book Your Visit

Ready when you are.

Request a time and a real person calls you back, usually within two business hours. No phone tree. No ‘someone will reach out.’ Just a plan.

  • Hours Monday to Friday, 7:00am to 5:30pm
  • (910) 782-2150 Prefer to talk now? Call us.
  • No referral needed to start

5.0 · 200+ Google reviews

Typical response: under 2 business hours

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So we know who to look for when you walk in.

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Advance in Motion Physical Therapy

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