Back & spine Orthopaedic Rehabilitation
Lumbar Spondylosis
- Stiffness in the lower back, worse in the morning
- Ache after standing or walking for a while
- Reduced ability to bend or twist
- Sometimes leg symptoms if a nerve is involved
Quick answer
Lumbar spondylosis is age-related wear in the joints and discs of the lower back. It is very common and frequently symptomless. Where it causes stiffness and pain, physiotherapy improves mobility and strength over eight to twelve weeks, though the structural changes themselves do not reverse.
Typical recovery
Managed long-term; symptoms usually improve in 8–12 weeks
A typical range, not a promise — how long it takes depends on how long it has been going on, and on what you do between appointments.
Lumbar spondylosis describes age-related change in the lower spine — disc height loss, joint wear, and bony margins forming at the edges of vertebrae. Like its equivalent in the neck, it appears on the scans of a great many people who have never had back pain.
When it causes symptoms
Stiffness in the mornings that loosens with movement, an ache that builds after standing or walking for a period, and reduced ease bending or twisting. Some people find sitting relieves it, which is close to the opposite of a disc problem and helps distinguish the two.
Where the changes narrow the channel the nerves travel through, walking may bring on leg heaviness or pain that eases on sitting or leaning forward.
How physiotherapy helps
- Mobilising the stiff segments and the hips, which usually stiffen alongside
- Strengthening the trunk, glutes and legs so the spine is better supported
- Building walking tolerance progressively where it is limited
- Adjusting daily loading — how you lift, stand and sit
- Weight management advice where relevant, since load through the spine matters
How long it takes
Most people notice meaningful change within eight to twelve weeks. The condition is managed rather than cured, and the gains hold while the exercise continues.
Medically reviewed by Kapil Kumar, BPT, MPT, Orthopaedic Physiotherapy · Last reviewed September 2026