ESL Blogs

Eighty per cent of the population will experience a debilitating episode of back pain, the vast majority due to a mechanical problem known as subluxation, which occurs simply because you make the wrong move at the wrong time.

• Usually, it is a manoeuvre you have made many times before and will probably make a million times again. It can happen when flexing forward, extending backwards, rotating or bending to the side. We don't know why it happens but it causes a muscle, tendon, joint or even bone to get stuck out of position.
• Subsequently, surrounding nerves can be trapped, causing further pain that might be felt in other parts of the body.
• Mechanical back pain often self-regulates without treatment and just needs some time. Usually, the first 24 hours are unpredictable and painful, the second day you have a bruised feeling and on the third the symptoms are still there but less intense.
• In cases that continue for longer, there are many treatment options.
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  I'VE PUT MY BACK OUT. WHAT NEXT?
• Muscle pain responds better to heat, while ice is best for joint pain. In the case of mechanical back pain, it's best to apply both within the first 24 hours. Both hot and cold have a pain-relieving effect by desensitising the nerves.
• One of the first things to ascertain is what structures are involved. Is it muscular, ligament, tendon, nerve, disc, bone or an infection?
• It is important to know how it started, when it is felt and what aggravates and eases it. Pain can be local or even felt in the legs (this is a condition known as sciatica, where the sciatic nerve that starts in the middle back and runs down the leg becomes trapped or compressed, causing pain, numbness or pins and needles in one or both legs).
• Pain that is worse first thing in the morning, is localised, responds when heat is applied and improves with movement and as the day progresses is more likely to be muscular, which would suggest that stretching and movement will be therapeutic.
• However, if pain increases as the day progresses and starts to refer down your leg, it may be a trapped nerve and rest is the best option.
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  WHAT ABOUT ACUPUNCTURE?
• I use acupuncture on every patient. After 28 years of experience, I think it is an invaluable way to release the soft tissues, ease muscle pain and prepare a physical structure for manipulation.
• I use massage to locate all the tender points in the affected area and then place fine needles into these points. There is a reduction in pain perception and the muscle spasm is eased.
• Acupuncture has also been proven to work when stimulating the nervous system, which induces the release of endorphins. These have a similar chemical structure to morphine.
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  WHAT IF I NEED SURGERY?
• The majority of back pain is treatable with physical therapy and only a small percentage requires surgery.
• However, if you do require surgery, techniques have improved dramatically in recent years. They can now replace a worn disc with a new titanium one. I have had a micro-discectomy, where the protruding bit of the disc that squashes your nerve is snipped off, thereby releasing the nerve. It eased the 13-week pain in my leg in an instant.
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  HOW CAN I PREVENT BACK PAIN?
• Daily stretching and strengthening of the local soft tissues of your back can reduce the likelihood of developing back pain. There are six basic stretches - forward flexion, backward extension, side bending left and right and rotation left and right. These can be done while you are sitting, lying or standing.
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  TAKE NO CHANCES WITH YOUR PRACTITIONER
• No matter what treatment you opt for, make sure your practitioner is registered with their professional regulatory/statutory body. If they are registered, they have had to train to a high standard, abide by codes of practice and ethics and are under the eye of watchful disciplinary committees.