What is Low Back Pain?

Low back pain is a common occurring condition that drives individuals to seeing doctors or physiotherapists. It is estimated that 80% of the Australian population will experience low back pain at least once throughout their lives.

Low back pain may occur due to poor or prolonged postures, overuse, incorrect lifting techniques, reduced body awareness and/or overcompensation for weakness in other parts of the body.

Generally, low back pain may present as:

Acute, or short-term low back pain:

• Lasts between a few days to a few weeks. In some cases, this may take longer.
• Pain may be severe in nature and movement may be restricted.

Chronic low back pain:

• Pain that occurs for 3 months or longer, even after an injury has been treated
• The continuation of chronic low back pain does not necessarily correlate to serious pathology

Common Symptoms

• Pain in the lower back region (area below the rib cage to the top of the pelvis)
• Pain with sitting
• Pain with bending, lifting or twisting
• Pain with standing, walking or running
• Pain during or after activities such as gardening, cleaning, sports or due to work
• Pain while sleeping
• Pain radiating into the buttock and/or the leg(s) which may be a sharp, shooting pain or a dull ache
• Pins and needles, tingling or numbness in the leg(s)

Common Conditions we Treat:

• Disc related injuries
• Facet joint syndrome
• Fibromyalgia
• Sciatica
• Scoliosis
• Spondylolisthesis
• Stenosis
• Muscle spasms and strains
• Osteoarthritis
• Post-operative
• Pregnancy related back pain

… and much more!

Physiotherapy Management for Lower Back Pain

Physiotherapy management plays a vital role in the treatment of low back pain. At Adelaide Physio and Podiatry Clinic, your physiotherapist will conduct a thorough assessment of your lower back pain to determine the cause of your low back pain as well as the movements/postures at work or at home which may be contributing to the pain. This allows the physiotherapist to set a treatment plan specific to the client.

The initial stages of physiotherapy treatment for low back pain are aimed at reducing pain and restoring movement if needed. Your physiotherapist may use treatment techniques such as joint mobilisation, soft tissue massage, trigger point therapy, dry needling, taping and/or gentle exercises.

The next stage of physiotherapy treatment is to further increase mobility and strength to help prevent your pain from occurring again and get you back to doing what you love to do. This is done through specific exercise prescription to strengthen and stretch relevant muscles, movement retraining particularly for positions that place increased load on the spine and possibly Pilates. Manual therapy may also be used as needed. Your physiotherapist may also help you implement changes in your daily life to reduce further problems or re-injury in the future.