Back Pain Treatment
Back pain will affect many of us in our lifetime. It is one of the most common reasons for taking time off work and can cost employers and employees a substantial amount of money in terms of sickness pay and loss of income.
The causes of and who is affected by back pain
With all the research that takes place, the reasons for people getting back pain is still not very clear and for this reason quite often a diagnosis of "Non-specific back pain" will often be given. People that are active and inactive can suffer and quite often without any obvious cause. It is most common in people within the working age group. Alot of people with back pain will recover within 6 weeks but there will be some where the pain continues beyond this.
Back pain treatments
There are many ways of helping people with back pain:
- manual therapies such as osteopathy, chiropractors and physiotherapists
- Electrotherapies can be used which are machines that can help reduce inflammation which in turn reduces pain, machines that help block pain, and ones that increase circulation.
- Pharmaceutical methods such as anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants, pain killers and anti-depressants.
- Acupuncture and other "alternative" therapies.
- Exercise which can be tailored to an individual depending on what their diagnosis is.
- Psychotherapy.
The most ideal way to deal with back pain is if someone can identify the triggers to their pain and for them to learn how to manage/cope with it or learn how to keep it at bay. This will, however, will be difficult for some people. Understanding your back pain can help a long way.
Osteopathy uses manual techniques to massage, stretch and mobilise areas contributing to the pain. But exercises can also be prescribed and electrotherapy can be used if appropriate.