Osteopath for Lower Back Pain
At Wellthy Clinic our Osteopaths specialise in treating Lower Back Pain. We will explain how your Lower Back Pain started, provide hands on treatment, give muscular stretching and strengthening exercises, basic nutrition and hydration advice to optimise you’re recovery. List Of Content
Osteopath for Lower Back Pain
Lower back pain (LBP) is a condition that causes a great deal of pain and suffering across the world. It also accounts for large costs to society due to healthcare spending and missed work (Cochrane 2014). LBP is very prevalent in the adult population affecting up to 80% of all adults sometime in their lifetimes. Moreover LBP is typically divided into acute (less than 12 weeks) or chronic (more than 12 weeks). In most acute cases, acute symptoms resolve within a few weeks to a few months. Your lower back (lumbar spine) is the region between your lowest ribs and the upper part of the buttocks.
Reasons for Lower Back Pain
The most common reasons which contribute to feeling LBP are prolonged sitting at your desk and lack of exercise. Along with lifting items incorrectly and causing injuries. These can cause an additional mechanical load onto your lower back and cause a strain onto your muscles, ligaments and joints. In addition, typically movements will make it worse and resting will help ease your tensions.
Why is my Lower Back Worse in the Morning?
It is normal for your LBP to feel worse first thing in the morning, this is a normal inflammatory picture. Inflammation is your body’s response to injury or insult and when you are sleeping the body sees this as a good opportunity to heal. Therefore you feel worse first thing in the morning as this process is still finishing but after you get up, have breakfast and a shower your symptoms should become a little easier. Typically as you head in the right direction the level of pain will reduce or you experience the symptoms for less time which is a good sign. Of course if there is no improvement with your symptoms then see your Osteopath or GP.
How Do I Know if my Bed is Causing Back Pain?
It is important to address your mattress and pillows as if this are old (more than 8 years old) and need changing this will not help. Typically we suggest a relatively firm pillow which keeps your head in the mid line (same line as your sternum) if you are lying onto your side. Ideally not a really thin pillow that you head is sidebending or a really big pillow that your head is sidebending the other way. In addition, as for mattresses we prefer pocket sprung mattresses which are relatively firm which support your spinal curves whilst you sleep. Ideally not really soft mattresses that your body sinks into the mattress and gives no support. If you are still unsure then get in contact with us.
How Do I Know if my Back Pain is Serious?
LBP can also be a result from other underlying conditions which refer to your lower back. These could be from your kidneys, digestive system and reproductive system to name a few. Typically you will experience constant pains and rest doesn’t necessarily help ease your tensions. In which case seek advise from your GP.
How is Lower Back Pain Diagnosed?
It’s not necessary to see your GP to gain a LBP diagnosis. Manual therapists (Osteopaths, physiotherapists or chiropractors) are able to diagnose low back pain more specifically. They will take a full case history and perform a physical examination with testing. Give you a diagnosis so you understand the cause of your pains and proceed with treatment.
Lower Back Pain Treatment Options
There are many treatment options available and it is up to the individual to make an informed choice as to which avenue they wish to pursue. The length of treatment depends on the cause of your LBP. It also depends on your body’s ability to heal and your adherence to the professional advice and exercises. One option is posture rehabilitation.
Self-management
In some cases, where the pain is acute and not preventing you from performing your daily tasks, it is possible to self-manage their own symptoms. It would be beneficial to make positive lifestyle changes, reduce stress and have the right balance between resting and exercise. Have a well balanced diet with good hydration and nutrition and lose weight. Furthermore reduce alcohol consumption and stop smoking should all help with your recovery.
Acute Lower Back Pain Manual Therapy
The NICE low back pain guidelines (2016) suggest manual therapy for managing acute LBP within a treatment package, which includes exercise with or without psychological therapy.
Chronic LBP Multi Disciplinary Treatment
Patients with chronic LBP receiving multidisciplinary treatments experience less pain and disability than those receiving usual care or physical treatment (Cochrane 2017). A combined physical and psychological programme which incorporated a cognitive behavioural approach for people with persistent LBP was beneficial. If an individual is feeling anxious or depressed this will increase a person’s perception of pain. Factors associated with chronic LBP are job dissatisfaction, depression and fear avoidance behaviour. Therefore addressing how you think and feel about your back pain and introduce pain management strategies can help with symptom control.
Is Osteopathy Good for Lower Back Pain?
Yes absolutely, you will gain hands on treatment aimed to reduce pressure onto your lower back. Our Osteopath will address the whole posture to get other areas moving more freely (typically upper back and hips) to optimise the body’s natural healing processes. Our osteopaths will use a combination of muscular stretching, joint articulations and joint manipulations techniques (only when appropriate) to increase movement and reduce pain. Gentle Cranial Osteopathy techniques are also very useful particularly when working with patients who are experiencing alot of pain to calm down the system. Furthermore you will be advised on how best to self manage your symptoms. Be given both muscular stretching and strengthening exercises, basic nutrition and hydration advice.
Do Osteopaths Crack Your Back?
Yes Osteopaths can manipulate your joints but only with your consent after taking a full case history. Only if we feel the technique is appropriate for you, at the time with your presenting problem. We are not breaking your bones and not putting joints back into place. If you do hear a click or pop when an osteopath manipulates your joints this is the sound of gas leaving the joint capsule. It is a safe technique for the right person at the right time. There is a small chance you may feel sore or feel worse the following day after a treatment but then you should feel better. This will be discussed further within treatments. There are plenty of patients that we never manipulate but articulate the joints instead which is alternative technique and still produces good results. Another more gentle option is Cranial Osteopathy for back pain.
What Happens at your First Osteopath Appointment?
During your first consultation a full case history will be taken to get an understanding about you. Then your presenting problem/s and current health situation will be discussed.
We will then assess your posture, ask you to perform some active movements. After that assess your joint ranges of motion passively and maybe perform some other tests. Moreover you will be given a explanation of the as to what is happening. Then we will then discuss your treatment options and agree with you on the type of treatment most suitable for your symptoms.
Can Osteopathy Make Back Pain Worse?
It is common to feel worse before you feel better after treatment. The Osteopath will explain the potential side effects before providing treatment and then ask for your consent before going ahead with treatment.
How do you Fix Lower Back Pain?
In some cases, where the pain is acute and not preventing you from performing your daily tasks, it is possible to self-manage their own symptoms. It would be beneficial to make positive lifestyle changes, reduce stress and have the right balance between resting and exercise. Have a well balanced diet with good hydration and nutrition and lose weight. Furthermore reduce alcohol consumption and stop smoking should all help with your recovery.
How Long will it Take to Recover?
From an Osteopath perspective the prognosis for patients with acute low back pain is 3-6 weeks. Patients with chronic low back pain may take longer to recover depending on the individual. However, in both cases having a structured rehabilitation plan to enable you to take control of your own tensions would be worthwhile.
What is the Best Medication for Lower Back Pain?
If you choose to see your GP they may prescribe medications to help reduce your pain. These can be oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), prescribed with or without gastroprotective medication. Weak opioids (with or without paracetamol) only if an NSAID is not suitable or has been previously ineffective (NICE 2016).
Surgical options
NICE (2016) guidelines suggest radiofrequency denervation for people with chronic low back pain could be considered if non-surgical treatment has not worked for them. NICE have suggested not to use electrotherapies: ultrasound, electrical nerve simulation (PENS) and transcutaneous electrical nerve simulation (TENS). Moreover interferential therapy, acupuncture or orthotics for managing low back pain as there is a lack of evidence to support the effectiveness of these treatments.
Exercises for Lower Back Pain
Appropriate exercise taking into account people’s specific needs, preferences and capabilities is encouraged. Group exercise programmes for people with LBP were found to be beneficial within a clinical setting (NICE 2016). Therefore Pilates is a safe, effective exercise method for people with low back pain. Please see below video, for further videos follow us on our Wellthy Clinic instagram and Facebook pages.
Chronic Lower Back Pain Stretching Exercises
Additional Factors for Reducing Lower Back Pain
Nutrition can also play a part in our recovery so speaking to our nutritionist about joint pain and gut health your musculoskeletal health. We offer a free 15 minute consultation to discuss your situation and your options.
Book a consultation with us to discover what other conditions we can treat at our London Osteopathy Clinic and how we can help you with Pilates rehab exercises.
References
Cochrane Library (2014) Multidisciplinary treatment for LBP
Cochrane Library (2017) Multidisciplinary treatment at the early stages of LBP
Yamato et al (2015) Cochrane review: Pilates for low back pain https://www.cochrane.org/CD010265/BACK_pilates-for-low-back-pain
Cochrane (2017) The impact of individual recovery expectations on pain, limitations in activities and return to work in LBP
NICE guideline NG59 (2016) LBP and sciatica in over 16s: assessment and management https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng59/chapter/Recommendation
Matthew Glithero
Matthew Glithero is an Osteopath (MOsT), Cranial Osteopath &, Pilates instructor with a background in Sports Science (BSc).
Matthew is a dynamic Osteopath who delivers bespoke treatments aimed to reducing pain. Helping you feel better and empowering you to pro-actively manage your own symptoms.