Back pain, whether in the upper, middle, or lower back, affects 8 out of 10 people at some point during their lives. 1 Because the back supports all of the body’s weight, it is subject to large amounts of mechanical stress, which often leads to injury. Common Causes
Back pain can occur from routine activities such as gardening, housework, reaching for an object, or even coughing. At work, it can occur through activities such as lifting, pulling, and even simply sitting at a computer and reading. It can be caused by any number of things, sometimes for no apparent reason.
The most common causes of back pain include:
| Poor posture | Muscle strains |
| Ligament sprains | Disk problems |
| Sciatica | Arthritis |
| Muscle weakness | Stress |
| Pregnancy | Osteoporosis |
Therapyroom1’s approach to treating back pain
We assess the cause and also the type of pain in order to determine the most effective treatment.
In addition to their treatment, our therapists involve the patient in managing their back pain; this could be by retraining them in the way that they move, work or by prescribing specific rehabilitation exercises that can be performed independently. Our work with them includes:
- Advice about early activity
- Joint and soft tissue mobilisation
- Stabilisation exercises
- Re-educating patients to change their body mechanics to improve things like joint movement
- Stretching exercises
- Ergonomic advice at home or in the workplace
- Postural advice
- Speedy referrals and appointments to other medical practitioners
1 National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Handout on Health: Back Pain. NIH Publication No. 05-5282. September 2005.