All of us have experienced back pain of some degree at a point in our lives. It is one of the most common pain conditions. Pain is the common complaint with back issues but other symptoms such as pins and needles, numbness, leg ache, muscle spasm, weakness, stiffness can also be present.
Back pain is musculo-skeletal in nature, can be considered mechanical or inflammatory (and usually both!) and can sometimes include neck pain and pelvic pain. Over the years, it has become the most common reason for sick leave.
The pain can come about in various ways such as picking up heavy objects in an incorrect manner, or spending too long in a single position, like sitting at a desk all day. Poor ergonomics and poor posture is a common cause.
Anxiety and stress are known to make the pain worse. However, it is rare for other health conditions to cause back pain.
Painkillers can be used to temporarily address the issue, but this runs into some pitfalls.
The first of these is that the medication only numbs the pain but does nothing about the cause of the problem. The second issue is that painkillers and similar medication can be habit-forming and have harmful side-effects with prolong use.
A good way to counter back pain is to understand what is causing it. Sudden injury from joint sprains and muscle strains, illness, or poor posture can all play a part. Some common conditions which can be helped with physiotherapy include back muscle stain / spasm, facet joint sprain, sciatica, disc bulge / prolapse disc ( no, your disc can not ‘slip’ ! ), nerve compression, arthritis/degeneration.
Seeing a physiotherapist swiftly can help with pain relief and improve mobility. It will also help to prevent more complications and speed up the recovery of the current back dysfunction. At Dr7 Physiotherapy, you will be verbally and objectively assessed thoroughly, followed by a treatment plan that is individualised for your condition. You will receive treatment which may include, soft tissue massage / release; joint mobilisation / manipulation; dry needling / acupunture ; taping; electrical therapeutic modalities such as Interential, TENS, LASER ; specific rehabilitaion exercises and most importantly, expert advice and education in injury management.
