Osteopath Back Pain treatment
Low Back pain is a very common condition. 70-85% of the population will experience low back pain (LBP) at some point during their lives (Andersson, 1999) Most causes of back pain are not due to serious disease and are often referred to as non specific lower back pain.
Nice (2009) describes non specific low back pain as lower back pain that has lasted for more than 6 weeks, but less than 12 months. This may present with tension, soreness and/or stiffness and may include several structures such as joints, discs, and connective tissues.
Osteopath Back Pain
Osteopaths are highly trained in Muscular skeletal diagnostic skills. When treating low back pain osteopaths isolate the tissue causing pain by a thorough case history followed by special orthopedic tests. Once the tissue causing pain has been identified a treatment plan can be formulated. Treatment usually consist of mobilisations, soft tissue techniques, manipulation if necessary and basic exercises.
Along side this, osteopaths carryout a biomechanical assessment to identify how the structure of your body may also be contributing to the lower back pain.
Acupuncture Back Pain
Acupuncture is thought to help back pain by 1) stimulating the release of local immune modulators, helping to reduce inflammation, 2) Improving the circulation locally assisting in reducing muscle stiffness and joint mobility. 3) Modulating the nervous system by afferent signals to the spinal cord and higher brain centres (Longbottom, 2010, BAcC, no date).
Nice Guidelines:
The NICE guildlines (2009) recommend the following key priority implementations in treating non specific lower back pain:
- Provide people with advice and information to promote self management of their lower back.
- Offer one of the following:
- An exercise programme
- A course of manual therapy i.e. ostepathy
- A course of acupuncture
If one of these does not work, another modality from the list above should be tried. John is fully qualified in performing any one of these approaches and will inform you of which modality would be most appropiate.
References:
Andersson 1999. Epidemiological features of chronic low-back pain. Lancet;354:581-85.
BAcC (No Date) Back pain Available: http://www.acupuncture.org.uk/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=1127:back-pain&Itemid=106
Longbottom J (2010) Acupuncture in Manual therapy. London: Churchill Livingstone.
NICE (2009). Low back pain Early management of persistent non-specific low back pain. UK : NHS