Back Pain & Longevity
Low back pain is the fastest growing disease worldwide (WHO 2023) impacting everything from daily activities to long-term quality of life. While often viewed as an inevitable part of aging, this is not true and can be alleviated. Understanding its root causes and treatment targeted at these root causes (which may not be your back) is crucial not only for acute relief, but for preventative for the long term. At PhysioMotion, we take a proactive approach to back pain, focusing on solutions that promote an active lifestyle, longevity and restore function.
Understanding Back Pain
A diagnosis of back pain can be confusing, especially when imaging reports don't always match what you're feeling. This is the critical difference between radiological and clinical findings.
Radiological Findings (The Scan): An MRI or X-ray might show "degenerative discs," "bulging discs," or "arthritis." It's important to know that these findings are very common in people with no pain at all and often correlate with normal aging.
Clinical Findings (The Person): This is what our physiotherapists assess - your specific pattern of pain, muscle weakness, joint stiffness, movement compensations, and functional limitations. Your clinical picture is what truly guides effective treatment.
For the vast majority of low back pain, physiotherapy is the recommended first-line treatment. Surgery is typically reserved for specific, severe cases like cauda equina syndrome, progressive neurological loss, or significant structural issues that fail to respond to extensive conservative care. Physiotherapy addresses the underlying causes of your pain—such as poor movement patterns and muscle imbalances—to provide lasting relief and prevent recurrence, making it a cornerstone of long-term spinal health.
Our Physiotherapy Approach to Low Back Pain
We begin with a comprehensive whole-body assessment to identify the primary drivers of your back pain. Is your lower back loading asymmetrically due issues in your neck, feet, hips or upper back? Our treatment will target these causative areas and treatment tailored to your unique clinical findings.
Advanced Manual Therapy: We use skilled hands-on techniques to restore mobility to stiff joints, release tension in tight muscles that affect the root cause areas and reduce nerve irritation.
Neuromuscular Re-education: It's not just about being strong; it's about being smart with your movements. We teach this with:
Real-Time Ultrasound Biofeedback: To visually teach you how to correctly engage your deep core muscles (transversus abdominis, pelvic floor, multifidis muscles) for dynamic spinal stability.
Sensorimotor Training: Retrains your neuromuscular coordination, improving your whole body’s movement ability in sport and everyday function
Individualized Exercise Prescription: We build your rehabilitation from the ground up, starting with foundational core activation for the relevant regions that are causing your back pain and progressively integrate strength, flexibility and sport-specific movements.
Your Role in Long-Term Health: The Power of Exercise
Consistency is key to making lasting change. Your exercise program is a non-negotiable part of your recovery, designed to reinforce what we achieve in the clinic and build your body's independence.
A well-prescribed program often includes:
Manual Therapy: Corrective manual therapy based treatment to allow your body to move symmetrically and off load injured tissue
Dynamic Core Stabilisation: Exercises that promote core postural muscles to give dynamic control of the ‘weak’ region
Global Strength: Integrating dynamic postural core with bigger muscles groups like your gluteals, calf, thigh and back muscles
Movement Integration: Learning to effectively combine core and global muscles to sport performance
Diaphragmatic Breathing: An integral part of your core, it also calms the nervous system whilst promoting optimal core / pelvic floor coordination.
Key Takeaways:
1. Don't be alarmed by scan results. Radiological findings are common. Your clinical symptoms and movement quality are what matter most for treatment.
2. Physiotherapy is the gold standard first line treatment for back pain. We address the root cause of pain giving you the best chance for a full recovery and prevention.
3. Your commitment to home exercises is your investment in longevity. Regular targeted exercise is the most powerful tool for preventing the recurrence of back pain.
