Do you wake up with a stiff back in the morning? Do you have that nagging pain in your back, buttocks and legs from prolonged sitting and standing? Are you afraid of bending forward or lifting heavy stuff as it might hurt your back?

 

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) low back pain is the most commonly reported pain worldwide and a major cause of disability -- affecting work performance and general well-being.

 

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Back pain vs Sciatica ?

 

Low back pain and sciatica are not the same. They are often confused with each other. Sciatica is a type of back pain and it is an umbrella term for pain that radiates down to buttocks, thighs, legs or even feet. It may come with numbness, shooting pain, tingling or burning sensation. 

 

Sciatica may or may not involve the sciatic nerve, which is the longest nerve in your body that originates from the lower back that splits and travels all the way down, ending in your feet. It may be associated with a herniated or prolapsed disc.

 

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Why should you seek help for your back pain?

 

Back pain can be caused by joints, muscles, facial, discs or nerves, it can also be affected by your movements, stress level, sleep etc. It is multifactorial and often not quite straight forward. 

 

The problem with asking Dr Google is that most information you get online or from YouTube are general and they are not answering to your specific condition. Our physiotherapist will be able to identify the root cause of your problem and provide treatment that targets your specific needs.

 

Most back pain and sciatica (around 97%) are completely treatable by physiotherapy. Oftentimes, you will see a significant improvement in your condition after just 1-2 sessions. Your physiotherapist will advise you the estimated sessions you need for a complete recovery depending on your condition.

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When should you seek help?

 

Most back pain is self-limiting which means it will recover even without any treatment. Indeed 90% of back pain cases resolve within 6 weeks. However 60-80% of people who have had back pain before have a recurrence of backache within 2 years and 7% unfortunately develop chronic/ long term back pain. 

 

You are advised to seek help from a physiotherapist if 

• Your back pain has been there for > 6 weeks

• Your backpain keeps coming back 

 

What kind of back pain can’t be resolved by a physiotherapist?

 

Back pain caused by tumour or infection, back pain referred from the other internal organs (kidneys, liver etc) and back pain that causes you to lose control of your bowel and bladder may not be completely treatable by a physiotherapist. You will require other medical professionals and specialists to help you. 

 

Fortunately this type of back pain is rare, accounting for approximately 3% of all kinds of back pain. If you are not sure what causes your back pain, visit us or your doctor to find out more. 

 

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Do I need a scan (X-ray or MRI) ? 

 

Scans like X-ray or MRI are important only in a small fraction of people with low back pain (<10%) when there is progressively worsening neurological deficits or when serious pathology is suspected such as tumour, infection, fracture etc. 

 

Medical professionals advised that scans or imaging should not be routinely and excessively used as it is causing more harm than good. Often imaging results come back revealing “loss of disc height” “disc bulges” “disc desiccation” “reduced intervertebral foramen size” “osteophytes/ bone spurs” however these are also part of what happens as we age. Most changes are considered normal degenerative processes and there is no need to worry about. 

 

When the result is not properly explained and conveyed to patients it causes overwhelming worry and anxiety to patients. This is not only leading to unnecessary mental stress but also lower back muscle over tensioning, afraid of movements etc which are not healthy for the recovery of lower back pain.  

 

Is back brace/ back support good?

 

You can choose to use back brace/ back support during the very acute phase of your back pain or when you first get injured if this allows you to keep active and move around. Movement is good for the recovery of back pain. 

 

You should not need back brace/ back support for more than a few days. Prolonged use of the back brace causes joint stiffness and prevents normal spinal movements. Also your core muscles might switch off as your body is used to depending on the external support when used excessively.  

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