When back pain interrupts sleep, work or the activities you love, we’re here to help you find relief and trust your movement again. We’ll help you understand what helps and practice a plan you can use on your own between visits.
Your first visit: 60 minutes, one-on-one with Dr. Emily Warren, DPT, Cert. MDT. McKenzie certified · No referral needed.
Tell us what you have tried and what you want to get back to. Ask how we can help and what your first visit involves. We’ll contact you by phone or text to arrange your conversation.
Prefer to reach us directly? Call or text (385) 332-4939.
In-person back pain physical therapy at our Holladay, Utah clinic, serving the Greater Salt Lake City, Utah area. Virtual coaching from anywhere.
When earlier treatment has not helped enough
Google review: Kim P.
“She quickly identified my back and leg issues within just a few appointments, leading to immediate improvements in my condition.”
Read Susan W.’s Google review
Google review: Susan W.
“My pain has decreased, my confidence is much higher and overall quality of life improved.”
Doing the exercises, but still not getting your life back?
Bring the exercises you have tried and tell us what happened. Relief that lasts only through the appointment, symptoms that flare the next morning and a routine that is hard to fit into your day need different adjustments.
Dr. Emily uses her McKenzie training to check how selected movements affect your back and any leg symptoms. We compare a task that matters to you, practice the movement together and explain what to notice afterward. Pain education helps you understand the response; strength and activity practice help you build beyond early relief. See what a useful reassessment should cover.
If you’d like another clinician to take a fresh look at your symptoms and what you’ve tried, explore a second PT assessment.
Dr. Emily Warren, DPT, Cert. MDT
Bring your story. We’ll work from there.
Emily’s early work in neurological rehabilitation shaped her interest in movement and the experience of pain. Your scan and examination matter, and so does what pain has changed in your day. Tell her what you have tried and what you most want back. We use your account alongside movement testing to choose a starting plan, then build toward the mobility, strength and confidence your life calls for.
PT since 2012 · Spine-focused orthopedics since 2020 · BoneFit trained · Founded Mindful Movement PT in 2021. In-person care is in Holladay, serving Greater Salt Lake City.
What to expect at your first back pain visit
Your first PT visit is a 60-minute, one-on-one assessment with Dr. Emily Warren. We’ll talk about what you want to get back to, see how your symptoms respond to movement and practice a starting plan together. This visit is separate from the free case review conversation.
-
1. Listen and explore movement
Start with a task you want back: sitting through work, walking farther or lifting with confidence. We listen, examine your movement and explain what your history and response suggest, including relevant back and leg symptoms.
-
2. Practice a plan that fits
Learn the movements, starting amount and changes to watch for. Ask questions while we work through them together, and tell us what will fit into your day.
-
3. Build toward your life
Choose an everyday activity to track. We review what changes, build mobility and strength around your progress, and explain when to adjust the plan or seek another assessment. The aim is growing confidence managing between visits.
Bring comfortable clothes, any exercises or relevant reports you already have, and one activity you want to get back to. It helps to note what you’ve tried and what changed afterward. Our first-visit guide and preparation worksheets can help you organize your questions.
Back pain appointments and clinic location
- In person: 4890 Highland Dr, Holladay, UT 84117, serving Greater Salt Lake City. Holladay clinic information.
- Virtual options: coaching for movement education and wellness goals; ask whether clinical virtual PT is available for your needs and location.
We are a cash-pay, out-of-network practice: you pay us directly, and we provide a superbill for possible insurance reimbursement. Learn about out-of-network care and HSA/FSA payment, or bring your payment questions to the Free Case Review.
Lower back pain, sciatica and other conditions we assess
- Recurring lower back pain: symptoms with sitting, driving, bending or lifting, including pain that keeps returning when you resume workouts.
- Upper-back or shoulder-blade pain: symptoms with reaching, carrying or work that may need a closer look at upper-back, neck and shoulder movement.
- Sciatica and radiating leg pain: assessment of pain and associated tingling, numbness, or weakness.
- Herniated disc or bulging disc symptoms: a plan based on your examination and function, alongside relevant medical findings.
- Spinal stenosis: help planning activity around walking tolerance and symptom response.
- SI-region pain and spondylolisthesis: individualized assessment and progression.
- Scoliosis: curve-specific Schroth treatment connected to breathing, movement and your functional goals.
- Persistent pain or post-surgical rehabilitation: movement planning that considers sensitivity, your goals, and any surgical restrictions.
Physical therapy for chronic low back pain
Chronic back pain means pain that has lasted more than three months. It does not mean you are out of options. When pain has been part of life for a long time, even familiar activities can feel uncertain. We start with what you can manage now and help you build from there, at a pace that lets you gain confidence.
We connect the explanation with something useful you can practice. If sitting through work is difficult, we look at what changes the symptoms and choose a starting adjustment or movement to try. Then we review whether sitting is more comfortable, you can manage longer, or symptoms settle more easily afterward.
- When sitting or driving is difficult: we help you find more comfortable options and build up the time you can manage.
- When activity brings a flare-up: we find a manageable starting level and help you build from it.
- When movement feels worrying: we explain what you are feeling and practice at a pace that helps you grow more confident.
If your old exercises are no longer helping, bring them with you. We can look at what needs to change and give you a smaller, more useful plan to work on. Our chronic back pain guide explains how we combine McKenzie assessment, pain education and a gradual return to activity. For more specific questions, explore chronic pain and hypersensitivity or what to do when previous PT has not helped.
What if back pain comes with osteoporosis or low bone density?
We can help you work on back comfort and bone health together. We use your history, strength and balance to choose a starting point, drawing on Dr. Emily’s BoneFit training and the principles of progressive resistance training studied in LIFTMOR. If you have osteoporosis and new, sudden back pain, arrange a medical assessment before increasing exercise loads. Learn about our bone-health care.
How do we work toward non-invasive back pain relief in Salt Lake City?
- McKenzie assessment: find the movement that helps. Dr. Emily uses Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) to explore how your symptoms respond to positions and repeated movements. We use those findings to choose exercises and teach you what to notice at home.
- Pain education: understand what you are feeling. Questions such as “Am I hurting myself?” and “Why does this still hurt?” deserve time. We explain sensitivity and help you practice movement with growing confidence.
- Progressive strength: build toward your life. Work toward carrying groceries, picking up your child, walking hills or returning to workouts. We build from what you can manage now.
- Hands-on care: support more comfortable movement. Manual therapy and dry needling are in-person options when they fit your symptoms and preferences, alongside your movement plan.
Which next step fits your back pain?
Use these examples to prepare for an assessment. Similar symptoms can have different causes, so the table does not diagnose your condition.
| Your situation | What an active PT plan can help you work on | Progress and the next decision |
|---|---|---|
| A new back-pain flare without concerning new symptoms | Find comfortable ways to keep moving, get out of a chair and manage everyday tasks. Adjust the activity or exercise amount while symptoms settle. | New episodes often improve most during the first six weeks. Look for easier movement and a growing ability to resume your day. Worsening symptoms or a stalled recovery deserve review; six weeks is not a required waiting period. |
| Back pain keeps returning or has lasted more than three months | Combine movement and strength with practical pain education. Practice sitting, lifting or exercise at a manageable level, then build the demands around your response. | Useful changes include longer activity, less disruption from a flare and greater confidence. Progress usually takes practice over time. If relief never carries into daily life, review the exercise choice, amount and wider plan. |
| Pain travels into the leg, with possible sciatica or a disc-related problem | Check strength, sensation and movement response; choose a manageable way to sit, walk and exercise. A scan label alone does not select your exercises. | Track leg symptoms and useful activity alongside the examination. Severe pain may justify discussing an epidural injection. Persistent disabling symptoms with matching nerve compression may warrant a surgical opinion. New or increasing weakness needs prompt assessment. |
| Lumbar stenosis makes standing or walking difficult | Build a suitable mix of walking intervals, strength, balance and another endurance activity when helpful. Start with the route or outing you want to regain. | Look for more distance, fewer stops or easier standing. Function can improve without removing the narrowing. Declining walking ability, neurological change or continuing major limitation calls for reassessment and possibly surgical input. |
| PT, chiropractic care or an injection helped briefly—or did not help | Review what was tried, how symptoms behaved and which goal remained difficult. Recheck the explanation and examination, then explain what will change in the new plan. | Agree on an everyday task to compare and a review point. An unchanged routine is not the only option. Another clinician or a different treatment may be appropriate if the findings or response call for it. |
What outcomes has research measured?
For non-invasive back pain relief, your plan may bring together movement practice, pain education, suitable hands-on care and gradually building strength. At our Holladay clinic, serving Greater Salt Lake City, Dr. Emily checks which options fit your examination and goals. We compare a task that matters to you, such as sitting through a meal or walking with a friend, and adjust the plan when progress stalls.
Research gives encouraging examples of improvement. The results below describe selected study groups, not MMPT success rates or a forecast for your recovery.
- Matching care to movement response: In a 350-person trial of back pain lasting more than six weeks, with symptoms that changed location during movement testing, 71% receiving certified McKenzie care and 59% receiving chiropractic spinal manipulation reached a defined disability-improvement target at follow-up two months after treatment ended. The target was a reduction of at least five points on the Roland–Morris disability questionnaire or a final score below five. Both groups also received advice and improved. Read the trial.
- Recent sciatica: A trial of 220 adults aged 18–60 with symptoms for less than 90 days found that adding four weeks of PT to education improved disability more than education alone at six months. The average additional improvement was 5.4 points on a 100-point disability scale. Read the trial.
- Walking with stenosis: In a 104-person trial with imaging-confirmed lumbar stenosis and walking-related leg symptoms, 82% in a six-week comprehensive nonsurgical program versus 63% in self-directed care improved measured walking distance by at least 30% at six months. This was a structured stenosis program, not a McKenzie trial. Read the trial.
Where do injections, surgery and hands-on care fit?
An injection may help some people with sciatica manage pain and disability in the short term; lasting pain relief is less certain. That evidence differs from nonspecific back pain or walking symptoms from central stenosis. Our epidural injection and PT guide explains the expected benefit and how to connect any relief with activity.
Surgery can be the right option for selected nerve-compression problems. In a trial of severe disc-related sciatica lasting 6–12 weeks, early surgery brought faster relief than continued conservative care; one-year outcomes were similar, but some people initially assigned to conservative care later had surgery. An informed choice considers pain, neurological findings, function and your preferences. Our back surgery versus PT decision guide separates decompression, fusion and an appropriate rehabilitation trial.
Hands-on treatment, including manipulation, may be useful alongside exercise. The aim is to connect any relief with movement and activity you can keep building. Our chiropractic care and specialized PT comparison explains what to ask about the actual plan. No single treatment is best for every back problem.
MMPT experiences after a difficult start
Let’s find a useful next step.
More about the research behind these choices
research on the course of back pain; AAN review of epidural injections; disc-related sciatica surgery trial.
Back pain while sitting: a video from Dr. Emily Warren
Watch Dr. Emily explain a movement topic, then bring your questions to your visit. Our McKenzie exercise guide explains why the movement that helps one person may be different for another.
Hear Rebecca’s story
Common questions about back pain physical therapy
I have been told I have a “bad back.” Will it only get worse?
That label alone cannot tell us your future. The scan, symptoms and examination need to be considered together. Our MRI guide explains why a finding is not a complete treatment plan. Emily asks what you have stopped doing, checks relevant movement and nerve findings, and chooses a starting task we can review. We can work toward easier sitting, walking or lifting even when a report still uses the same words. New weakness or other concerning changes need medical assessment.
How many appointments will I need—and will I need to keep coming forever?
We want you to need less guidance as you understand what helps and regain the activities you miss. Follow-up should have a clear purpose: checking a change, solving a problem or progressing toward something you cannot yet do comfortably. The number and spacing depend on your starting point and response.
As you improve, we discuss which exercises still serve a purpose, how your usual activity fits the plan and what would make another review useful. You do not need to collect more exercises at every visit. The goal is a manageable approach you can use with growing confidence, including knowing when a new or different problem deserves help.
Who should I see first for back pain: a PT, pain clinic or surgeon?
For back pain that is interrupting everyday movement, a physical therapy assessment can be a useful first step. We can help you understand the pattern and begin a nonsurgical plan without a referral. A medical clinician is the right partner for medication, injection or surgical questions, and urgent warning signs need medical care first. You can use both kinds of support. Our guide to PT and pain-management care explains how to choose and coordinate them. Bring any MRI report or treatment recommendation you already have; you do not have to sort it all out alone.
Can PT help with chronic pain and hypersensitivity?
Yes. We can help you work on comfortable movement, understand sensitivity and gradually return to activities you have been avoiding. We will take your symptoms seriously and start at a level you can manage. Our chronic pain and hypersensitivity guide explains more about this approach.
Are virtual appointments available for back pain?
Yes. We offer virtual coaching for movement education, wellness goals and ongoing encouragement. If you need a clinical assessment or treatment, we will confirm what is available for your location and whether an in-person visit would serve you better.
What if exercise feels fine, but I hurt more that evening or the next morning?
Tell us about the later response, too. A movement feeling comfortable in the appointment is only part of the picture. Notice where symptoms are, whether they settle and what you can do afterward. For example, an exercise that briefly eases pain but leaves your usual walk harder the next morning gives us a reason to review the plan.
A delayed increase does not by itself tell us what caused it or whether an injury occurred. We look at the pattern and may change the movement, starting amount or activity demands. Avoid repeatedly pushing through an exercise that leaves you persistently worse. Our flare-up guide explains how to prepare for a review; new weakness, bladder or bowel changes, or other warning signs need medical attention.
How much will I need to do between appointments?
Tell us honestly what fits into your day. We choose a few useful starting movements, practice them together and explain the amount and response to watch. If the routine feels unmanageable, we review the priorities with you instead of assuming you need more willpower. The plan should help you move toward work, family life and exercise, rather than become another source of worry.
Can I start PT while considering an injection or surgery?
Often, yes. Bring the recommendation or report you already have, along with your questions. We can assess your movement and help you work on a nonsurgical plan while you discuss medical options with your treating clinician. If you have had a procedure, we follow the relevant recovery guidance. Our PT and pain-management guide explains how those care paths can work together.
Can I start by talking with Dr. Emily?
Absolutely. You do not need to know which treatment to book. Request a Free Case Review or call/text (385) 332-4939. Tell us what has been going on and what you would love to get back to. We will help you choose a next step.
When should back pain receive urgent medical attention?
Seek emergency care for new bladder or bowel dysfunction, loss of feeling around the groin, pain with weakness or numbness in both legs, or back pain after a serious accident. Severe sudden pain, rapidly worsening symptoms, fever or feeling unwell need prompt medical assessment. In a US emergency, call 911.
Physical therapy after back surgery
If you have already had a lumbar fusion, microdiscectomy or laminectomy, tell us the procedure, current restrictions and the activity you are trying to regain. Postoperative PT follows your surgical guidance. We use your assessment to connect permitted activity with a practical starting plan and a way to review progress.
Explore lumbar fusion rehabilitation or PT after microdiscectomy and decompression. You can discuss the appropriate next step through a Free Case Review.
Tools for choosing your next step
Explore the back pain guides
- Back-pain home care: manageable activity and when to seek help
- When lower-back pain keeps returning
- McKenzie exercises: choosing the right movement
- Herniated disc recovery: milestones and reassessment
- Lumbar arthritis, spondylosis and facet arthropathy: what helps
- When PT has not helped your back: what to reassess
- Chronic pain, allodynia, and hypersensitivity
- Understanding DEXA results and bone-health planning
Help with the part of your day that hurts
- Getting out of bed and moving more comfortably in the morning
- Settling sciatica at night and getting in and out of bed
- Bending for shoes, laundry and everyday lifting
- Managing back pain or sciatica when driving
- Understanding back pain when standing or walking
- Choosing the next training step after deadlifts hurt
- Adjusting running when your back becomes painful
Recommending care to someone? See our clinician referral information and printable guide.
Free Case Review
Let’s talk about what you want to get back to.
Leave your name and number. We’ll call or text to arrange a free conversation about what you want to get back to and whether care with Dr. Emily fits. You don’t need to choose a treatment first.
Local or virtual: In-person PT in Holladay, serving Greater Salt Lake City. Virtual health and wellness coaching is available from anywhere.
Your free case review can happen by phone or video. If you choose to proceed with PT, your first assessment is a separate 60-minute visit.