At Hardiman Performance our osteopaths understand how scary and debilitating back pain can be.

If you are suffering with back pain our osteopaths are equipped with the knowledge and skills to help you get back on top from. We understand that you are an individual and therefore tailor our examinations and treatments specific to your needs. There are some common conditions in which we see on a regular basis in clinic. Below I have included some details on the most common types of back pain presentations.

NON-SPECIFIC MECHANICAL LOWER BACK PAIN

Back pain is common. Most of the population will suffer with back pain at some time in their lives and unfortunately it can often be scary, confusing, painful and debilitating. In most cases back pain is not serious and does not require significant intervention. Although often not serious (nor long term) back pain can be very sensitive and cause a lot of distress for those who suffer.

NSMLBP is back pain which does not necessarily relate to a single structure in the back but more likely is multi-factorial in nature. Lifestyle, sleep, stress, diet, previous back pain experiences, training load and mechanical structures all play a small role in the development of this type of back pain. In the case of NSMLBP the evidence-based advice is to modify activities in the short term if needed but move around within pain tolerance as much as possible and return to normal activity as pain decreases.

Light exercise such as walking is also advised to help control and relieve symptoms. NSMLBP can be episodic and normally resolves within 1-6 weeks. In order to decrease likelihood of future episodes, building resilience through better lifestyle and training practices is advised.
If you are unsure of what’s causing your back pain and would like to have one of our experts assess you, please feel free to contact us.

SPECIFIC STRUCTURES

Although many back-pain cases are multifactorial and non-specific, back pain can also be caused by specific structures. These structures include the muscles, joints, discs, ligaments and nerves of your spine.
Occasionally back pain can be associated with pain or altered sensation into the thigh, leg or foot. This is what’s known as sciatica.

There is cross over and commonality in management of back pain with and without sciatica as a whole but there are slight nuances in the management of the different presentations.

If you pain is left unresolved after a short period of time and you would like specific advice on how to best treat and manage your pain, please contact the clinic.

If you have received a specific back pain diagnosis, confirmed by a scan and been told there is little you can do to resolve your symptoms, at Hardiman Performance we would be particularly keen to help you. The current evidence shows that MRI findings which we once believed to be the cause of back pain are common findings in populations without pain also. We thoroughly enjoy helping those who fit into this group as there is always plenty you can be doing to improve your pain and often just a change in understanding about the pain can help transform actions which can lead to life changing results.

INFLAMMATORY BACK PAIN

There are a family of spinal inflammatory conditions in which we screen for and help our patients manage at Hardiman Performance. The most common of these is Axial Spondylarthritis and/or Ankylosing Spondylitis.
These group of conditions are often missed by healthcare professionals due to symptoms being very similar to that of normal non inflammatory presentations. In fact, patients in this group on average experience an 8.5-year delay to formal diagnosis from point of symptom onset.