PHYSICAL THERAPY | BACK PAIN | CHARLESTON, SC
Lift, Sit, And Train Without Paying For It Later
Herniated disc, sciatica, a "normal" MRI — none of it means you're stuck with this.
Even if you've done PT before, or it comes back the second you return to activity.
A FULL HOUR, ONE-ON-ONE
THE SAME DOCTOR OF PHYSICAL THERAPY EVERY VISIT
OPEN COMMUNICATION BETWEEN APPOINTMENTS
ORTHOPEDIC & SPORTS SPECIALIZED
What to Expect at ALTR Performance
With Dr. Andrew Bagley, PT, DPT, ATC - Owner, Physical Therapist
We know you probably have questions before you pick up the phone. This video walks you through exactly what to expect from working with us — from the first call, to your evaluation, to the plan we build for you.
Every session is one-on-one with your doctor of physical therapy. No aides. No rotating staff. No twenty-minute slots where someone hands you a sheet of exercises and moves on to the next person.
You'll have total access to your PT between visits, so when something changes or a question comes up, you're not waiting two weeks for your next appointment to ask it.
And if what's going on turns out to need more than physical therapy, we will tell you that up front. We would rather make sure you get the care you need than waste your time. So, what's the risk?
Why Your Back Pain Keeps Returning
Herniated disc. Pinched nerve. Stenosis. Sciatica. You've probably been handed at least one of those, and they all sound permanent. They aren't. Imaging findings are information, not a sentence.
Here's what usually isn't said out loud: the fear isn't really the pain. It's picking up your kid and wondering if you're going to pay for it tomorrow. It's sitting out of things. It's the quiet worry that your kids are going to remember you as the parent who was always on the sidelines because something hurt.
Your back is rarely where this starts. When hips don't move well, the mid-back is stiff, or the core doesn't engage under load, your lower back absorbs force it was never built to handle. That's exactly what rest, stretching, and generic exercise sheets keep missing — they treat the spot that hurts instead of the reason it's overloaded.
We fix what your back has been compensating for:
- Identify what's forcing your back to overwork
- Restore mobility where motion is missing
- Rebuild strength to share load properly
- Retrain movement so pain doesn't return
- Replace hesitation with confident motion
Ready to move without back pain?
Get a clear explanation of what's driving your back pain — and what needs to change for it to stop coming back.
Can't find a time that works? Click here to have us contact you!
Frequently Asked Questions
We hear these often, so here are a few answers you may be looking for!
My MRI showed a herniated disc. Doesn't that mean I need surgery?
Usually not. Disc changes show up on imaging in large numbers of people with no pain at all, which means the finding by itself doesn't explain what you're feeling. What matters is how your back is loading and what's forcing it to overwork. We'll walk you through what your imaging does and doesn't tell us.
I've done physical therapy for this before and it didn't work. Why would this be different?
Fair question. Most back pain PT treats the back. If your hips don't move well or your core doesn't engage under load, treating the back alone leaves the actual cause untouched — which is why it returns the moment you go back to normal activity. The difference here is where we look, and that you get a full hour to actually do the work.
Is it safe to keep lifting or training while this hurts?
Usually yes, with modifications — and stopping entirely is more often the problem than the solution. Deconditioning makes backs more sensitive, not less. We'll tell you what to keep doing, what to scale, and what to leave alone for now.
More questions?