Persistent back pain is a leading cause of disability and reduced work/lifestyle engagement worldwide. Most episodes of back pain resolve within 3 months, which is the timeframe for normal tissue healing.
Persistent back pain (i.e. back pain that has lasted more than 3 months) is often caused by complex and multifactorial neurophysiological changes that drive persistent pain, but may also include dysfunctions of movement, flexibility, strength and lifestyle habits. This pain can persist even when the body tissues have healed or there are no abnormalities on an imaging scan.
During your Physiotherapy assessment, in addition to a direct assessment of your back, other factors such as movement behaviour/habits, work, lifestyle, general health and social/psychological factors are taken into account when deciding on the best management plan for you.
Primary treatment usually involves targeted, specific and individualised education, movement re-training and home exercises. This may be supplemented by specific manual therapies and/or referral to other healthcare professionals when required. Our physiotherapists administer evidence based treatment aligned with the cognitive functional therapy model, which is clinically proven to be more effective that regular physiotherapy treatment for persistent and disabling back pain1.
The goal of therapy is to be collaborative and to provide you with the knowledge, tools and long term plan to work toward recovery in line with your values and lifestyle goals.
As persistent pain can sometimes be a sign of serious pathology, if your physio feels there are any concerning signs and symptoms they will send you for further medical investigation.
- Kent P, O'Sullivan P, Smith AD, et al. RESTORE-Cognitive functional therapy with or without movement sensor biofeedback versus usual care for chronic, disabling low back pain: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open 2019; 9(8): e031133.