Did you know that Bruce Lee had lower back pain? and he was considered to be one of the fittest people on the planet! The statistics are high when it comes to acute lower back pain in the adult population, chances are you have experienced an episode of back pain in your lifetime. A common but poorly managed condition, lower back pain can be life altering. More often than not, a lower back pain episode will begin with a common movement, like bending over, or getting up out of bed, sitting on the toilet even. Then wham! instant agony that gets worse and worse over the course of the next few hours. Follow up symptoms include inability to bend over, walk very far, sit down, breathe in and out and lying in bed seems to be the only option. In such cases, I will often advise patients to wait out the first few days of pain by seeing their regular GP for some pain relief, gentle moving about the house, avoiding heavy lifting, and being kind to themselves. Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better, and early manual therapy can result in bad outcomes for patients. Once this early phase is over, then the therapy can begin, which can be anything from massage, manual therapy, TENS, dry needling, hot/cold therapies using ultrasound, taping for stability, and home exercise programs. More importantly, research has shown that patient reassurance and education about the condition is shown to provide the best outcomes in the long term. This is great news, because as it turns out, you have more power than you realise. Lastly, one of the most important things is to have trust in your practitioner, and know that this too shall pass. If you are experiencing back pain that is referring down the leg (sciatica) then this is a little different and you may require a different approach. For more information you can book an appointment with us at our Bowral clinic.

Stay well

Sam and Andy