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Low Back Pain Physiotherapy

Also known as lumbago, low back pain is unfortunately a very, very common pain that affects up to 60% of the population at some point in their lives (this is staggering: this means that if you line up 10 people in a row, SIX of them has had low back pain at some point in their lives!).

And it doesn't stop there: out of these 6 with low back pain at some point in their lives, half of them (50%) develop long term chronic low back pain...which means they will experience and struggle with pain in their lower back for a long time of their lives.

To be frank, much of this low back pain can be attributed to:

• hectic lifestyle
• high stress and pressure
• more seated or sedentary lifestyle (less exercise and activities)

This leads to

• weakened muscles and posture
• which in turn is more susceptible to injuries and pain
  

life changing low back pain...

Experiencing pain can and will affect our daily routine, lifestyle and even our mood.

Studies show how people who experience pain on a frequent basis reports lower mood and dissatisfaction.

Do not fret, because having low back pain is not a life-long sentence. In Phoenix Rehab, treating back pains and neck pains are very common for us, especially our specialist senior spine physios.

The most important thing that our senior physiotherapists first need to do is to do an indepth assessment to understand:

• the main causes of your back pain
• your pain and lower back pain history at length
• your work, sports/exercises and activities
• your pain triggers
• etc

You see, the more we dive deeper to understand how, what and why your lower back pain happened (and what aggravates or factors it more), then we can create a very specific-to-you customized lower back pain physiotherapy program to treat it completely.

who suffers/most at risk from low back pain?

As mentioned earlier, six (6) in ten (10), that is 60% has lower back pain at some point in their lives, and of these 6, half of them develop chronic lower back pain.

• Men and women are equally affected on a 1:1 ratio.
• Most of these lower back pain sufferers are aged between 30 to 55 years old
• Some of them are due to accidents, some are caused by aging (degeneration) and some are due to sedentary (lack of exercise/movement), some are due to sports and overexertion.

Unfortunately, the risk of experiencing low back pain from disc disease or spinal degeneration increases as we grow older (this is due to a combination of risks related to weakness, degeneration, increased risk of falls etc).

That being said, there is an increasing rate of back pain in children too (one of the reasons being heavy or unsuitable back pack).

low back pain classifications

Lower back pain can be classified by how long a person has had the lower back pain:

• Acute lower back pain: lasts less than 6 weeks (less than 42 days)
• Sub-acute lower back pain: lasts 6-12 weeks (lasting 42 - 84 days)
• Chronic lower back pain: lasts for more than 3 months (more than 84 days)

It can be further classified or grouped based on what type of injury caused the back pain:

• Mechanical
• Non-mechanical
• Referred pain

What are the Possible Causes of low back pain?

As we age/grow older:

• the structures in our back, such as the spinal ligaments, vertebrae and spine muscles will degenerate, making it more easily damaged or injured
• the discs between the joints will also lose fluid and flexibility, decreasing their ability to absorb shock in the spine bone (again, this leads to increased risks of injury)
  

Lower back pain can happen in an instant, when a person

• over-lifts something too heavy
• over-stretch to reach for something
• trips and falls
• get into a road traffic accident
• get involved in contact sports/actitivities

This can cause:

• back muscle pull
• back joint or ligament strain
• the spine disc may rupture
• the spine disc may dislocate (slipped disc) and bulge a side and compress the nerve root, irritating it and causing sciatica
  

In some instances, low back pain may point towards nerve or muscle irritation or bone lesions.

Most low back pain follows injury or trauma to the back, but pain may also be caused by degenerative conditions such as

• arthritis or disc disease
• osteoporosis or other bone diseases
• viral infections
• irritation to joints and discs
• congenital abnormalities in the spine
• etc
  

possible aggravating factors

• Obesity
• Smoking
• Overweight/weight gain during pregnancy or lifestyle
• Stress
• Sedentary/unfit or poor physical condition
• Poor posture
• Poor sleeping position also may contribute to low back pain.

Additionally, scar tissue created when the injured back heals itself does not have the strength or flexibility of normal tissue. Buildup of scar tissue from repeated injuries eventually weakens the back and can lead to more serious injury or more frequent relapse of back injury.

If you know someone who has experienced or reported back pain for some time but hadn't had the time to get it treated yet, please encourage them to get it treated as soon as they can, as treating problems earlier is always easier and quicker to resolve it rather than wait till it's advanced.

They can also call in first to speak to our senior spine physios or email in to enquire, and we will be more than happy to speak with them.