Back pain is one of the main reasons why many clients come to see us. There are many structures in the spine that can cause pain or other symptoms such as stiffness, paraesthesia (pins & needles), or referred pain into the arm or the leg. Symptoms can come from the joints, discs, muscles nerves or may not even be coming from the back itself. The problem can be from muscles overworking, underworking, poor posture, wear and tear and a huge number of other factors.
Or physiotherapy treatment aims to:
A lot of people that we see have what is classed as 'mechanical back pain'. This is pain caused by dysfunction of some spinal structure e.g a stiff joint or spinal segment or muscle strain similar to what you can get in any other part of the body. This can be caused by an injury or in many cases a constant misuse of the body e.g. with poor posture, using the wrong muscles to achieve a movement or muscle imbalance.
We can carry out a physiotherapy assessment and give you a clinical diagnosis as to what we think the problem is and provide treatment if appropriate.
Treatment very much depends on the findings of the assessment and the possible contributing factors identified. Techniques used to treat back pain can often include the following:
Potential clients and patients often ask us about the types of conditions that we treat and can help with. We have therefore put together some case studies from our files that outline some of the cases that we have been able to help with and offer a flavour of what we do in our clinic.
30 year old architect with hip & low back pain
Treated with spinal mobilisations, spinal manipulation, hamstring stretches and dry needling on his hip.
Four sessions of treatment led to a full recovery.
31 year old pregnant lady with low back and pelvic pain
After two sessions she was much better and walking again pain free.
70 year old woman with chronic lower back/leg pain due to arthritis
A 70-year old woman with chronic lower back and leg pain due to degenerative changes (arthritis) in her spine attended for treatment.
She was recommended to try Clinical Pilates in a bid to try and avoid surgery.
She completed a 6-week programme of Clinical Pilates and then continued with a tailor-made home exercise programme.
She became pain-free and reported that her mobility had improved significantly.
36 year old woman with middle/low back pain after childbirth
A 36-year-old woman developed middle and low back pain following the birth of her first child.
She attended for 4 sessions of one-to-one Clinical Pilates.
She noticed such a profound change in her back pain that she decided to enrol in a local Pilates group class for the ongoing benefits that she felt it gave her.
Clinic note: Post-pregnancy low back pain is very common due to weakness developing in the core abdominal muscles during pregnancy. This is compounded by an increase in lifting and ‘leaning over’ type activities once the baby arrives. It is generally safe to start Pilates after 6 weeks.
43 year old with neck/back pain after long periods in front of computer
A 43-year-old man presented with longstanding neck and upper back pain which he felt was related to long hours spent sitting at a computer for his work.
Assessment showed weakness of his neck and upper back muscles.
He enrolled on a 6-week Clinical Pilates course carried out on a one-to-one basis here at the clinic.
The main focus was to strengthen the body’s natural corset muscles to help support the neck and back during prolonged hours sitting at a desk.
The results were fantastic and he now has very little pain and an ongoing home-maintenance exercise plan.
26 year old office worker with migraines, neck and shoulder pain
She was treated with a combination of soft and deep tissue massage and mobilisations to her shoulders in side-lying position. She was also advised to take regular breaks when working on the computer and engage in regular yoga practice to monitor stress levels
This client is finding a regular massage session helpful and feels better after every session. She is now able to manage her work related stresses and experiences fewer spells of migraines than before.
38 year old IT worker with calf and lower back pain
He was treated with deep tissue massage, mobilisations to his lower back and pressure points to gluteal muscles. He was also advised to buy a foam roller to aid release of tension in in his gastrocnemius (calf) muscles.
After two sessions he was much better and able to undertake his regular work-out regime without symptoms.
"The exercises you worked out for me were wonderful. They had an immediate effect so that by the end of the following week I actually had a pain-free day. Seeing you was really the turning point and I am extremely grateful."
AH
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Established in 1998