Back Pain Treatment London
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Back Pain Treatment London:
The Back to Health ProgrammeBackground
Research figures show that 80% of the population will experience back pain at some time in their lives. Every year 40% of people in the UK experience it. The frightening thought is that this figure is on the increase.
Back pain can be extremely disabling and frustrating. As anyone who has suffered with it knows, often there is no rhyme or reason for the pain. Activities that you did with ease one day suddenly have you doubled over and limping with pain the next. Your muscles go into spasm and there is sharp pain with even the simplest of movements. Treatment of the immediate pain is often not the problem – keeping it at bay is.
Beyond simply alleviating the pain in you back, the physiotherapists here at Pure Sports Medicine work to address the causes of your back pain, and get you working to actively build a fitter, stronger, more flexible and balanced body. The aim is simple – prevent your problem recurring!
We do this by undertaking a thorough assessment that consists of a full history of your problem followed by a physical examination that looks at how you use your body to move. Our bodies are like mechanical devices. If the component parts are not working together in a synchronised fashion, certain areas become vulnerable to stress and strain and eventually tissue damage occurs. Research has shown that when the body parts don’t work correctly, pain is the eventual result. Treating back pain therefore requires these movement problems be addressed.
These problems are identified for each individual patient and a specific treatment programme developed to correct them. This usually consists of some manual therapy that loosens up any stiff areas of the spine and releases any areas of muscle tightness, followed by an individual exercise programme designed to get muscles working correctly so that the body moves the way nature intended. No two people’s programme is exactly alike, because even though the pain we feel may be similar to what someone else is experiencing, the cause usually isn’t.
To facilitate this individual exercise programme Pure has recently launched its ‘Back-to- Health’ programme. A recent study conducted here in the UK has shown that manual therapy (as we have already discussed above) followed by an exercise programme is the most effective way to alleviate back pain in both the short and long term. (UK BEAM Trial).
The ‘Back-to-Health’ Programme
The programme is a ten-week programme of exercise designed to:
- improve each individual's level of body awareness
- increase cardiovascular fitness
- improve flexibility
- enhance the body's muscular stabilising mechanisms.
The stabilising muscles are designed to support the low back and protect it from injury during all functional activities, whether it is running, playing tennis or sitting at a desk working at a computer all day.
Research shown that in people who have had low back pain (even for a very short time) these stabilising muscles stop working to control and protect the spine effectively. This makes the spine very vulnerable to re-injury. Even when pain has subsided and a person has returned to all normal activities, including sporting activities, these muscles do not necessarily start working again.
Pure Sports Medicine's ‘Back-to-Health’ programme is designed to get these muscles functioning properly to protect and support the spine.
Cardiovascular fitness is also an important aspect of treating and preventing low back pain. This class incorporates non-impact cardiovascular training to help get patients involved in exercise and improving their general fitness.
The class is run by a specialist musculoskeletal physiotherapist with extensive experience in the management of low back pain and dysfunction as well as in the running of classes. No more than five participants are enrolled the class to allow close supervision of each individual's exercise programme.
The class consists of a series of group exercises at the beginning and end of each session, with a series of exercise stations in the middle. The stations consist of both cardiovascular activities and specific exercise therapy. Each patient will complete a series of individual exercises that is appropriate to their problem and condition. Clinical research shows that all patients with low back pain have different ‘substitution strategies’ that they use in an attempt to protect their backs in the absence of the correct patterns of muscle activation. For optimal and long-term benefit, it is essential that all patients undertake therapeutic exercise that is most appropriate for their dysfunction.
When:
Monday evenings 7-8 pm
The class operates on a continual rolling programme. Participants can join a class whenever a space becomes available.
Where:
Integrated training studio – B3
David Lloyd Gym
116 Cromwell Road
Located in the same premises as Pure Sports Medicine.
Who:
Patients currently undergoing treatment at Pure Sports Medicine will be enrolled in the programme if it is considered appropriate by their therapist. Interested people who are not currently undergoing treatment at Pure Sports Medicine can enrol in the programme after an assessment by one of Pure Sports Medicine's Specialist Musculoskeletal Physiotherapists.
How Much:
£195 for a ten-week course. Participants are able to complete their ten-week programme any time within a three-month period.
What to wear:
Loose, comfortable clothing. Some cardiovascular work is involved and patients may get hot and sweaty. Showers and changing facilities are available for all patients.