Back pain is a very common problem, with reports suggesting as many as eight out of ten of us will suffer from it at some point during our lives. Around 5.6 million working days in the UK are lost each year due to back pain, second only to stress.

What do Osteopaths do to help back pain?

Many people seek osteopathic treatment to address it quickly and at a time and place of their own choice; and osteopaths are skilled at helping prevent back pain from becoming a chronic, long-term condition.

Osteopaths can use a wide range of gentle manual treatments depending on your age, fitness and diagnosis. We may gently massage the soft tissues of your back or rhythmically “rock” the joints to release tension and sometimes we may gently manipulate the back to loosen the joints and you may hear a “click”.

In most cases, treatment is needed in other areas in the body such as the hips or neck.

The gentle manipulative and massage techniques from osteopaths can help some arthritis sufferers. Treatment is individual, gently moving and stretching an arthritic joint and massaging surrounding muscles and tissues can help ease some of the discomfort. 

How successful can Osteopathy treatment be for back pain?

Osteopaths are well known for treating back pain and patients report high satisfaction with treatment. There is good quality evidence supporting the beneficial effects of manipulation for back pain and the National Institutes for Clinical Excellence recommends osteopathy for sub-acute and chronic low back pain. 

Common causes of back pain:

• Sprain/strain of the back muscles muscles, ligaments, joints or damage to the discs.
• Osteoarthritis
• Heavy lifting
• Moving awkwardly
• An accident or injury
• Stress
• Depression
• Posture
• Weight
• Sedentary living
• Poor lifestyle habits
• Acute back pain
• Chronic back pain
• Disc problems
• Mechanical back pain
• Sciatica
• Ankylosing spondylitis

Symptoms people can experience with back pain:

• Stiffness
• Tenderness
• Mild to severe pain (anywhere from the top of the neck to the pelvis)
• Numbness to legs & arms
• Pins & needles

Depending on the cause of pain the treatments we offer our patients to help treat this area of the body is Osteopathy or IDD Therapy. For Osteoarthritis we offer specialised Arthritis Therapy. X-rays, scans and other tests are sometimes required to make a diagnosis.