Osteopathy and Chronic Back Pain

Have you experienced back pain? Or know someone who has?

With over 80% of Australian’s reported to have some type of back pain over their life time, it surely has crossed you path – with either yourself, a family member, friend or colleague.

So what can be done and how can seeing an Osteopath for lower back pain help?

One of the first things to understand when dealing with back pain is that it presents in many different ways, is caused by different problems and hence it affects people differently. So don’t let your friend diagnose your problem and give you pills from their medicine cabinet as it may cause issues to get worse!! Seek professional help first J for a proper diagnosis and management plan!!

Back pain can be sharp or dull, constant or comes and goes. The pain acts as a warning sign to the body to get help or be careful with movement, activities and function. Back pain can be acute or chronic in nature.

Acute pain is pain that is present for a short amount of time, and chronic pain means the pain has been there for over 3-6 months.

Back pain can be due to:

• Direct trauma,
• Post surgery,
• Local tissue inflammation and damage,
• Certain conditions and diseases such as:
  • Disc bulge
  • Arthritis
  • Nerve compression
  • Sciatica
  • Osteoporosis
  • Muscle spasm
  • Joint sprain

OR non-musculoskeletal complaints which require immediate medical attention such as:

• Kidney Issues
• Cancer
• Abdominal or Pelvic Issues

OR

• NO clear reason…. Most frustratingly, chronic back pain can be present for no clear reason. This is where the tissue causing the initial symptoms and problems have improved, but it leaves the patient still experiencing pain, – which can sometimes happen with chronic back pain. This is one of the harder reasons to understand and manage – both for the patient and their doctors.

As Osteopaths, we see patients with both acute and chronic back pain. Everyone who comes an osteopath for lower back pain has a different experience of pain, as well as reason for it being present. We therefore treat each person and their complaint individually –

We will take a thorough case history, do a physical examination, formulate a diagnosis, and from here we will treat the patient appropriately!

Not only do we use “hands on” techniques to help the muscles, joints, connective tissue of the back and surrounding areas, we also provide advice on areas that may be affecting the chronic nature of the back pain. This ma include help with:

• Rehabilitation and exercise,
• Posture and body awareness,
• Eating a healthy diet and avoiding inflammatory, processed and high sugar foods,
• Ways to help decrease stress levels,
• Improving sleep quality and understanding sleep hygiene,
• Use of medications and natural supplements,
• Referral to appropriate specialist, psychologist, personal trainer, pilates instructor, dietician, naturopath or whatever may be required!

So if you need help understanding your back pain, as well as treatment and management, we St Kilda Osteopathy are highly experienced and caring Osteopaths in Melbourne. At our Osteopathy Clinic in South Melbourne, we don’t just see patients from St. Kilda but from surrounding suburbs as well like Prahran, Middle Park, Caulfield and offer treatment and tips for simple lifestyle changes to treat, manage and reduce recurring pain.

References:

https://www.painaustralia.org.au/about-pain/what-is-pain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwd-wLdIHjs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWMKucuejIs