Lower back pain

Lower back pain is extremely prevalent – the second most common reason for seeing a GP, after the common cold. Treatment within the first nineteen days of pain has been shown to get the best outcome, so don’t delay contacting us.

Many spinal structures cause lower back pain and sciatica into the legs and feet, including spinal joints, discs, muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves. Even with MRI imaging, it can be incredibly difficult to establish exactly which of these structures is responsible.

We ensure our physiotherapists are trained in the latest diagnostic techniques featuring a “pattern of pain” classification system. This can involve grouping your signs and symptoms according to what makes you feel better vs what makes you feel worse and, in simple terms, doing more of what makes you feel better!

To add to any confusion, chronic lower back pain and sciatica can continue long after the original cause has cleared. After long exposure to back pain stimuli, certain areas in the brain become “super sensitive” even to everyday non-painful sensations from previously irritated structures. This tricks the body into “feeling” pain even where there is no physical cause. In such cases, we employ a more holistic, cognitive behavioural approach alongside traditional physiotherapy treatment which would not succeed alone.

Our approach to the minefield of lower back pain is to make the infinitely complex simple – a task at which we excel. Tailored exercise and manual, hands-on therapy can ease acute and chronic lower back pain and sciatica, if they are applied to the correct patient in the correct manner at the correct times.

At Arches Physiotherapy, we have the knowledge and skills to set you on the path to recovery.

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