Healthcare has and will always develop and evolve like any scientific field, the differences these changes may impact you and help you understand your pain better! These are also the three areas I get the most questions about!
Back Pain
Many reading this blog will remember the days when back pain, especially with any sciatic nerve involvement, meant 6 weeks of work, bed bound with a big dose of strong painkillers. However times are changing and so is our understanding of back pain. More than 80% of us will experience back in our lives and over 80% of that pain will not be the result of a disease, damage or pathology. Rather back pain is caused by a variety of contributing factors such as; lack of movement, stress, poor sleep, soft tissue dysfunction. As Physiotherapists, we are on the frontline for treating back pain as we have the skills to assess, diagnose and devise effective treatment plans to keep back pain at bay.
Less need for imaging
It’s not uncommon for people to ask me, should I get a scan on my back or do I need an MRI on my shoulder? My answer always goes something like this. Throughout my assessment and treatment, I will understand what the issue is and what is the best treatment. A scan, whether it’s an MRI or CT or X-ray is an academic report. It’s done by a talented radiographer, often in partnership with a consultant and reports what they see. BUT, what the report does not acknowledge is the person. On countless occasions we read scans showing lots of degeneration or “wear and tear” but the patient in front of me is pain free and still playing golf of a 3 handicap. On other occasions I see people in pain with less structural damage. This does not mean their pain is not real, rather that the physical structures are not only to blame, or as some Physio’s say- The tissue is not always the issue!
Tendinopathy not tendonitis
In recent years lots of money and time has been spent investigating why people get tendon pain! Commonly in the achilles, the forearm (golfers and tennis elbow) or in the rotator cuff muscles in the shoulder. This new wave of research has led to some new findings. Tendon pain is not the result of inflammation, but rather a spike in use of that tendon means the tendon is too weak for the new demand. When a tendon is weak but we still ask it to work hard causing lots of different chemicals to release which may still create swelling or pain. Hence us Physiotherapist’s will often say tendinopathy as the “itis” in tendinitis refers to inflammation. What this means for you is that anti-inflammatory treatments may prove less effective than progressively strengthening the tendon.
Injury prevention
Strength, Strength, strength!! Research highlights the key to preventing injury is strength, however stretching and balance work (known as proprioception) all help too. So make sure you develop a strengthening programme that is tailor made for you and your demands.
If you have any questions- drop and email to , or request a free call with one of our Physiotherapists from our website https://www.cirencesterphysiotherapycentre.co.uk/
Keep on moving!
George Stacey-Stevens
Director and Physiotherapist at Cirencester Physiotherapy Centre