Have you ever heard someone say before that the area of pain is not always the cause of the problem. It is indeed true and we see this a lot, with the complaints that our patients come to see us with at Midlands Physio & Back Pain Clinic.
So, let me explain to you how this can happen and I will give a back pain example from a patient who came to my clinic earlier this year.
Back Pain Example:
One patient that springs to mind was a lady who came to see early on in the year with low back pain. (for the sake of this blog I’m going to call her Joan, which, of course, is not her real name). Joan was at her 5 year olds nieces birthday party and was helping her family to tidy and pick up the leftovers from the fun that was had over the hours previously.
As she bent down to simply pick up a burst balloon from the ground she got a sharp pain across her lower back and immediately thought ‘oh no, this doesn’t feel good.’ Her back felt like it locked up and she struggled to straighten back up again.
Of course, her family rushed to her aid and started to make a fuss over her which made her feel like she was closer to her 80th birthday rather than approaching her 40th.
She went home to lie down and slept well that night only to wake up feeling stiffer and more painful the next morning. She went to her GP who gave her a cert off work and a script for a nice concoction of muscles relaxants, anti inflammatories and pain relief and told her to rest up in bed for the week.
Taking Action
Joan called the clinic about 5 days later on a recommendation from a friend as the stiffness and pain was not getting better and she needed to get back to work soon. Driving was not possible because of the medication and getting in and of the car would have been too difficult.
After listening to Joan’s story I found that she had a minor back complaint a couple of years ago but it cleared up within a week or so. The only other issue she had was from a bad ankle sprain she had 3 years ago.
Her job was desk based but she went to the gym twice a week and walked when she could. The only thing she noticed recently was a slight niggle in her right hip when she got out of her car two weeks ago and thought ‘oh, that was strange’ but didn’t notice it after that.
What I Found
When I assessed her movements, she was quite stiff and had back pain on her left side when trying to bend over from a standing position. She also wasn’t happy putting full weight through her right leg when reaching to the side. Her right hip movement brought on left side back pain and the muscles around her right leg were weaker than her left leg…..
BUT she could bend quite well through her back when sitting down which gave me more confidence that this was more of a lower body issue that was affecting her back rather than purely a back issue caused by injury to her back.
I was now more curious about her previous ankle sprain on her right leg as it seemed that her left sided back pain was being brought on by positions that tested her right leg but her left side was fine.
The Result
To cut a long story short, I set about helping her right leg move better and tolerate more tension. I also did a little bit of work on her back to help it relax but the majority was focused on giving her body back confidence and reassurance on her right leg. And guess what, it worked.
Joan left that day bending more easily and over the next few days it continued to improve with the exercises I gave her and she was back driving and back to work in a few days. By the next session her pain had reduced a lot but it took another couple of sessions to get her moving without fear and with confidence to return to her circuit classes again.
Throughout the treatments Joan kept saying ‘I still find it hard to believe that it was the right side that was the problem.’
Conclusion to Joan’s back problem.
Thankfully Joan returned to her exercise classes without any trouble and her back has not given any issues in the 9 months and hopefully it will continue this way if her body stays balanced and her back avoids getting overloaded.
Find the true reason behind the pain for lasting results
Joan’s back pain may well have settled with time or with another type of treatment such as massage, chiropractor, or more medication. But, the problem is that it may not have stayed that way if the imbalance in her right leg was not addressed.
If she returned to exercise and circuit classes and her right leg was still not happy taking tension due to the old ankle sprain, then her left hip or back may have got overloaded again and the problem could have returned shortly afterwards.
This is where finding and addressing the real reason behind the back pain is so important for a lasting solution and in order to find this an individual assessment is necessary.
This is what I do with all my patients at Midlands Physio and I find people do like to understand why their body has reacted in that way and to have the ability to actively take charge in doing something to prevent it from recurring.
If you need help then get in touch:
If you are struggling with pain that is not going away and you have been focusing a lot of attention on the painful area then hopefully this blog has made you rethink your approach.
If you need some help or would like to book an assessment at my clinic then fill out the form below and we will let you know how we can help.
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