Physiotherapy is recommended for the management of lower back pain when other causes have been excluded - read on!
The content below is not intended as medical advice. If you have any doubts about decisions you make with this advice, we strongly urge you to speak to your medical doctor or a Chartered Physiotherapist immediately.
The original content for this page was typed in 2018, before the days of economic crises and global pandemics. With finances being pushed to the limit, I felt the need to edit this section of the website to help anyone suffering with back pain that needed quick, accurate advice. Even more importantly, what can you do right now to start helping the pain subside and return back to normal activities.
Now that we have the disclaimers out of the way, let's try and make sense of the process of assigning a diagnosis to pain in the lower back region.
Firstly, back pain is rarely serious. The symptoms arising from the lower spinal region can have other causes but for the most part I want you to consider a simple assertion - it is more likely what you are doing that is causing the symptoms and less likely what is wrong with you.
The chart below highlights the triage process (from the French - trier) used worldwide to classify the type of back pain you may have.
See your GP or a Chartered Physiotherapist if ::
These problems could be a sign of something more serious and need to be checked urgently.
"We have very little confidence that massage is an effective treatment for LBP. Acute, sub-acute and chronic LBP had improvements in pain outcomes with massage only in the short-term follow-up. Functional improvement was observed in participants with sub-acute and chronic LBP when compared with inactive controls, but only for the short-term follow-up. There were only minor adverse effects with massage."
Extended periods away from work are not recommended; 15% of people who take >30 days of work do not return to their original employment! Working is beneficial for physical and mental health and collaborating with your employer is crucial for recovery.3. What could you read tomorrow that could help you understand back pain, make immediate changes and start self-treatment?
I have found that most patients understand, retain and use information competently from Stuart McGill's book for non-medical professionals [Back Mechanic :: ISBN 13 :: 978-0973501827]::
There you have it.
My modus operandi, beliefs, favourite video link and book for patients and interested parties.
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