For many people, back pain is seemingly incurable - causing constant suffering and anguish. Chronic back pain is commonly described as deep, aching, dull or burning pain in one area of the back or traveling down the legs. Patients may experience numbness, tingling, burning or a pins-and-needles type sensation in the legs. Chronic back pain tends to last a long time, and is not relieved by standard types of medical management.
It may result from a previous injury long since healed, or it may have an ongoing cause, such as nerve damage or arthritis. Chronic back pain can lead to neurological feedback processes that only serve to worsen the pain and make it more difficult to treat. This feedback system is part of the bodies repair mechanism.
Feedback System
The brain sends a message to rush blood to the area that is injured and this will cause the muscle to go into spasm, creating a sort of corset to limit any further, potentially more damaging, movement. The muscle spasm can actually cause bruising because it compresses the joints. Unfortunately, this restricts the muscles ability to pump blood, therefore inhibiting the removal of waste materials. This, in turn may compound the original bruising and inflame the area even more. This process will be relatively painless, apart from the odd twinge, and normal everyday activities will keep the muscle pump working sufficiently to keep the back mobile.
However, there will come a time when the circulation gets so sluggish and the build up of waste material so great that the muscles can no longer function, so it goes into a huge cramp. An awkward movement or minor strain could set off this cramp. It is now that the individual will feel extreme pain and will seek professional help from their doctor or specialist. The treatment that they receive will often get the muscle out of cramp, however the underlying problem may go unresolved. This is why many people experience ongoing back pain, often never receiving a cure.
Treatment
At 'physiotherapy + pilates evolved', we treat back pain, firstly, by doing an initial assessment, taking into account life style and medical history. This will be followed by a treatment utilising the necessary tools, such as manual therapy techniques, massage therapy, electrotherapy or ultrasound. Your physiotherapist will select an appropriate method of treatment based on your particular needs. Follow up treatments will be needed to encourage a quicker recovery. Once the area concerned has started the healing process your physiotherapist will start introducing exercises, stretches or postural corrections for you to do in your own time. This is to prevent the injury from reoccurring. Joining a Pilates class can often be the best recommendation for maintaining core strength in the effort to prevent back pain.
Helping Yourself
In the mean time, if you aren't able to see us, here are a few tips to help deal with back pain.
- If the pain is very severe, place an ice pack (or a pack of frozen peas) wrapped in a cloth on the worst area. Leave it there just long enough to cool the area down and repeat several times (this often only takes 5 minutes).
- Take pain killers whilst the pain is most severe as these help relax the spasm. Anti-inflammatory tablets are also a great help. We recommend talking to your GP or pharmacist before self medicating.
- Take some form of gentle exercise. Walking is best but swimming is also beneficial. Exercise will increase the effectiveness of the muscle pump, easing the muscle out of cramp or spasm and clearing away the waste products.
- The worst thing you can do is take to bed. Don't do this, if at all possible. If you are so bad that you have to, try to get up every half hour - even if only for a moment.
- Get a friend to firmly massage the muscles in spasm using their fingers, being careful to avoid the actual spine itself. This can be quite vigorous as it is important to get the muscles warm. Massage will assist the muscle in pumping the blood and waste materials along.