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Low back pain
Back pain can be a real nuisance. It can stop us in our tracks and wreck our day, week or even our year. So what do we do when we get back pain? Do we push on or rest up? Quick answer: push on.
Most (not all) cases of back pain will not be due to a serious or specific pathology. More often than not, it is due to a complex combination of factors that include physical, psychological, lifestyle, social and genetic to name a few.
Think about it, often there is no clear mechanism of injury. No specific movement that triggered your pain. You may say “but there was, I was bending down to tie my shoelaces”. But surely our backs are more durable than that. Our backs get us up and out of bed and off to work and to the gym and onto the field and up mountains and support us during pregnancy and labour etc. So they should also be able to bend down to tie our shoelaces. Or lift that light object. Or turn at a moderate speed. Of course they can. So again, more often than not, the back pain we experience isn’t just a result of the movement we made immediately prior to it (that can just be the straw that broke the camel’s back) but a combination of our recent experiences and feelings up to that point.
My reason for this current blog is that I had an acute episode of low back pain myself recently. I can’t pinpoint when it started, I just remember my back being extremely sore, more left sided, aggravated by bending and very sharp in nature. No pain in my glutes or down my legs and no other symptoms of any kind. If I think about it, it’s been a busy few weeks over Christmas. The whole family was a bit run down. I overindulged on food, of course (guilt free). And I haven’t seen much of the gym. I said to my wife “if I didn’t know better, I’d swear I had a bulging disc”. That’s what the pain felt like.
And maybe I did have a bulging disc, or still do. But in this case (and most cases), it didn’t affect my rehab. I kept moving. I went for short walks. I applied a heat pack. I did gentle stretches. I used a foam roller. I took pain relief as needed. I got some physio from a colleague. And I repeated this daily. Now after a few days I’m 90% better. I know it might sound easy for me. But I’m not Superman. I’ve had lots of injuries in the past including previous back pain. Sports injuries, torn ligaments, broken bones, muscle pain and multiple surgeries for the above. My body has been through the wars like many others’ have. But crucially, I understand my body a lot more now than before I was a physio. And I understand pain more too. And I know how to manage it and I’ve learned how to de-stress and avail of social support as needed. I told myself the same things I tell my patients: your pain is real; just because it’s not purely physical does not mean it’s in your head; pain is complex and it requires a multifactorial approach to resolve.
With that in mind, here are some tips to tackle acute low back pain:
*Note: this is general advice. If you are in any way concerned about your pain, please see your Chartered Physiotherapist or GP*
- Don’t panic – I know it’s sore. But in most cases, it is not serious.
- Breathe – healthy mind, healthy body. Be calm and relaxed.
- Move – short walks; gentle back movements; lie on your back and bring a knee to your chest; then roll your knees from side to side; then arch and stretch on all fours.
- Use heat – hot pack, hot shower or bath, jacuzzi, steam room or sauna.
- Use pain relief as needed – paracetamol, ibuprofen or as indicated by your GP or pharmacist.
- See your physio – in my experience, reassuring words and hands can really help
MMC Physio 2020
