Exercise and training
You have reduced or stopped lifting, running, sports, or workouts because you do not trust your back.
Individualized care for active adults
Back Pain Physical Therapy in Boise
Back pain shouldn’t decide what you can do. Our individualized back pain treatment helps you understand your symptoms, establish a starting point you can trust, and rebuild the strength and confidence to return to the activities you love.
For active adults who want more than rest, generic exercises, or fear-based advice.
✓A thorough 90-minute initial evaluation
✓One-on-one visits with your PT
✓A plan built around your real activities
When back pain changes your life
Back pain has many causes—and it changes more than your back.
Back pain can make routine movements feel uncertain. You may limit training, avoid lifting, hesitate to bend or twist, or worry that normal activity is causing more damage. We help you replace that uncertainty with useful information and a plan.
Work and daily movement
Sitting, standing, bending, carrying, driving, or getting through the day has become uncomfortable or unpredictable.
Recurring flare-ups
Symptoms improve temporarily but return whenever activity, training volume, or life demands increase.
Fear of movement
You are unsure which movements are safe and find yourself avoiding more and more activities.
Pain into the leg
Sciatica, numbness, tingling, or radiating symptoms make it difficult to know where the problem is coming from.
Past treatment did not last
You have tried rest, medication, injections, adjustments, or physical therapy without a clear path forward.
01
Understand the problemYour symptoms, whole-body movement, activities, goals, and the demands you want to return to.
02
Manage your symptomsEstablish what your back tolerates and give you practical tools to reduce flare-ups.
03
Build toward activityProgress mobility, strength, coordination, resistance, volume, and movement complexity.
Our specialized approach
Our treatment approach: understand it, manage it, build beyond it.
Your care starts with more than where it hurts. We learn what your symptoms feel like, what changes them, what you have tried, and how back pain is affecting the activities that matter to you.
Then we test movement and load to establish a baseline you can trust. If something needs to change, we modify it thoughtfully rather than automatically telling you to stop.
✓Practical symptom-management strategies you can use during the day.
✓Exercise that improves mobility, coordination, and whole-body strength.
✓Progressive loading that prepares you for your actual life, training, or sport.
Conditions we treat
From a new injury to a complicated history.
A diagnosis can be useful, but it does not tell the whole story. Treatment is based on how your symptoms behave, what your body can currently tolerate, and what you want to do again.
Low back pain
Disc bulges and herniations
Sciatica and lumbar radiculopathy
Scoliosis
Spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis
Spinal stenosis
SI joint pain
Muscle strains
Post-operative back pain
90-minute initial evaluationTime to hear your story, test the movements that matter, explain what we find, and begin treatment.
Your first appointment
Leave with answers and a path forward.
We begin with 20–30 minutes focused on your story: your symptoms, activities, concerns, goals, and what you have already tried. Your therapist will then evaluate your spine and how your symptoms respond to movement—including the activities and exercises you report as painful.
We also assess your hips, knees, and ankles when relevant to understand how the rest of your body may be influencing your back.
Your contributing factorsThe movement patterns, training habits, and individual traits that may be driving your symptoms.
Your starting pointWhat you can continue normally and what may need to be adjusted for now.
Your path forwardAn initial plan to manage symptoms, build capacity, and return to the activities you love.
Ryan Schwab, PT, DPT
Orthopedic physical therapist · lifter · runner“Physical therapy should help you build the capacity and confidence to return to the activities you love.”
Meet your physical therapist
Back pain care grounded in clarity—not fear.
Ryan spent four years practicing outpatient orthopedic physical therapy at Washington University in St. Louis, treating conditions from head to toe. He especially enjoys helping active adults and adolescents improve performance, return after injury, and move with less pain and more confidence.
Back pain is a particular interest because it can affect nearly every part of daily life—and because it is so often surrounded by confusing or alarming messages.
Ryan loves teaching. His goal is to help you understand your symptoms, address the concerns that may be holding you back, and take an active role in your recovery.
Outside the clinic, Ryan enjoys lifting, running, sports, exploring the outdoors with his wife, and following the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs.
Request an Appointment With RyanPatient example
Returning to lifting and golf after back surgeryA 25-year-old weightlifter and golfer came to physical therapy after a microdiscectomy for an acute disc herniation. He had largely given up on returning to the gym because he was afraid movement would cause more damage.
Make sense of the symptoms
We discussed why residual symptoms after surgery do not automatically indicate damage or a poor outcome. Understanding how movement and current load tolerance influence symptoms gave him hope and a safer way to think about recovery.
Restore movement and confidence
He began with unloaded movement to restore range of motion and become comfortable moving again, then progressed into bodyweight squats, lunges, and hinges.
Build capacity for the gym
Resistance and training demands increased gradually as his physical capacity and confidence improved. He ultimately returned to independent strength training.
Return to the rest of life
Because golf also mattered to him, treatment included his swing and a strategy for returning to play. By discharge, he was back to lifting and golf with the confidence to manage his back independently.
Patient reviews
See what patients are saying.
Real experiences from people who wanted individualized care, clearer answers, and a path back to the activities that matter to them.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about back pain treatment.
You do not need a perfect diagnosis—or complete confidence in movement—before reaching out. That is what the evaluation is designed to help clarify.
Do I need to stop lifting or exercising if my back hurts?
Not automatically. Your therapist will help determine what you can continue normally, what should be modified, and what may need to be temporarily paused. The goal is to keep you safely involved in your normal activities as much as possible while rebuilding tolerance.
What if certain movements make my back pain worse?
A temporary increase in symptoms does not necessarily mean you caused more damage. If a movement consistently triggers pain, however, something may need to be adjusted. We test how your symptoms respond and help you find a level your back can currently tolerate.
Do I need an MRI or a specific diagnosis before starting PT?
No. Your history, physical examination, and response to movement provide valuable information. If imaging or further medical evaluation appears appropriate, your therapist will discuss that with you.
What if I have already tried physical therapy?
Not all physical therapy looks the same. We want to understand what your previous care included, what helped, and what did not. Then we build a plan around your symptoms, goals, physical demands, and response as treatment progresses.
Do I need a referral?
No. Idaho allows direct access to physical therapy, so you may contact Fit & Function directly.
Do you accept insurance?
Fit & Function is a cash-based clinic and does not bill insurance directly. HSA and FSA accounts are accepted, and the clinic can provide a superbill that you may submit for potential out-of-network reimbursement.
Ready for a clearer path forward?
Start rebuilding trust in your back.
Tell us what you are experiencing, what you have already tried, and what you want to return to. Ryan will help you understand your starting point and build the capacity to move forward.
Fit & Function Therapy Solutions · 9286 W Barnes Dr., Boise, ID 83709