Back pain can be an extremely debilitating and scary experience. No matter how bad the pain, with the right treatment the back has an amazing capacity to heal itself.
Confused about where your back pain is coming from?
There are essentially four structures that can cause back pain – muscles, discs, nerves and facet joints. Often two or more of these structures can be responsible for your pain. For example, when you have a disc injury the surrounding muscles will spasm. On occasion there can be a problem with pain processing and a sensitivity can develop leading to a chronic pain issue.
How can I fix it?
At RP we use a simple two-phase approach that has been refined over the past 15 years. First we assess all of the muscle and nerves that attach to the back and pelvis. We assess their length and strength. Tightness or spasm in any one of these can put excessive pressure on your back. Stretching and loosening these tight muscles can often ease your pain considerably.
The second phase involves helping you to explore pain free movements. We find this is a powerful strategy to combat pain and can be implemented at any stage following an injury. The RP method draws on exercises used in Yoga, Pilates and Gym based exercise. This therapeutic movement helps to create an environment conducive to healing at both the site of pain and at your brain’s pain processing center.
What causes back pain?
Often the cause is obvious - you bend incorrectly and overload the spine. But sometimes a little detective work is needed. Prolonged sitting, incorrect movement patterns, posture, stress and lack of sleep are all accepted causes.