Navigating Low Back Pain: Understanding the Journey to Recovery

Low back pain (LBP) affects millions worldwide, shaping treatment approaches and outcomes. A recent systematic review sheds light on the clinical course of LBP, offering insights crucial for effective management.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Acute Phase (< 6 weeks): Significant pain reduction occurs within six weeks, setting a positive tone for recovery.
  2. Subacute Phase (6-12 weeks): Initial improvement slows down, emphasising the need for escalated care in patients showing slow recovery to prevent chronic pain.
  3. Persistent Pain (12 – 52 weeks and above): Individuals with persistent pain face a challenging trajectory, highlighting the importance of targeted interventions to prevent long-term disability.

Understanding the Study: By analysing acute, subacute, and persistent phases separately, the study offers a more accurate picture of the clinical course.

Key Insights:

  • Pain Outcomes: Acute and subacute phases show large improvement, while chronic pain groups face ongoing challenges.
  • Disability Outcomes: Disability outcomes showed a large reduction in the acute phase and is observed across all phases, albeit less favorable for persistent pain groups with large variability in outcomes.

Clinical Implications: The study’s findings highlight escalated intervention in the acute and subacute phase is crucial to identify modifiable factors and prevent progression to chronic pain.

As we navigate the complexities of LBP management, this study emphasises the importance of tailored interventions at each phase of the journey. As Healthcare professionals we can optimise outcomes and empower patients on the path to recovery.

If you are suffering with acute or chronic low back pain book in with our Physiotherapists to achieve the best outcome and return to your favourable activity.

TPC

Unlocking the Power of Trust, Motivation, and Confidence in Treating Chronic Low Back Pain

Low back pain, back pain, low back pain exercises

Chronic low back pain (LBP) is challenging in the realm of physiotherapy. Despite numerous exercise interventions, finding the perfect fit remains elusive. But what if the key lies beyond the exercises themselves?

Key Takeaways:

  1. Trust, Motivation, and Confidence: A realist review delved deep into how therapeutic exercise prescriptions influence adherence, engagement, and clinical outcomes in chronic LBP. Surprisingly, it found that trust, motivation, and confidence play pivotal roles in driving positive changes.

While exercise is often the go-to for managing chronic LBP, researchers sought to understand the subtle yet crucial factors at play behind the scenes. Their realist review aimed to uncover how trust, motivation, and confidence impact treatment outcomes.

Insights:

  • Building Blocks of Success: Trust, motivation, and confidence emerged as unsung heroes in the battle against chronic LBP, influencing everything from exercise adherence to overall clinical outcomes.
  • A Novel Approach: The study tapped into patients’ experiences, input from exercise prescribers, and insights from behavior change experts to develop a comprehensive understanding of these critical factors.

Clinical Implications: This study marks a paradigm shift in chronic LBP treatment, shifting the focus from just exercises to the broader context of trust, motivation, and confidence. By recognizing and nurturing these psychological factors, physiotherapists can enhance patient outcomes and pave the way for more effective management of chronic LBP.

Understanding the multifaceted nature of chronic LBP and acknowledging the influence of psychosocial factors like trust, motivation, and confidence opens up new avenues for clinicians. By embracing this holistic approach, physiotherapists can better tailor treatments to meet the diverse needs of individuals battling chronic LBP.

At The Physio Crew we pride ourselves on creating trust, motivation and confidence in our patients to deliver an exercise program and treatment that will benefit you in the long run. To book an appointment call our friendly staff today.

Choosing the Right Exercises for Chronic Low Back Pain

back pain exercises

You’ve probably heard about the trouble that chronic low back pain causes – both in terms of cost and its impact on people’s lives. One way to tackle back pain is through exercise. It’s been shown to work better than doing almost nothing, but the big question is: what kind of exercise works best? The quest to find the most effective exercise approach continues. In this study, researchers investigated the effectiveness of specific self-stretching exercises compared to motor-control exercises for chronic low back pain.

Key Takeaways from the Study:

  1. What the Study Looked At: In this study, scientists wanted to figure out which exercise approach is better for dealing with that annoying long-term lower back pain. They compared two types of exercises: self-stretching exercises (involved stretching postures from the Global Active Stretching program) and motor control exercises (MCE) Both were guided by a physiotherapist.
  2. How They Did It: They got a group of people with long-lasting lower back pain and split them into two. One group did stretching exercises and the other group did motor control exercises (such as bridges, bird dog etc. ) Both groups did their exercises for eight weeks with a physiotherapist.
  3. The Results: Good news! Both groups felt better in terms of pain, disability, and fear of making things worse. What’s interesting is that there wasn’t a big difference between the two groups. This means that both stretching exercises and motor control exercises can help with long-lasting lower back pain.

Implementing in Practice:

  1. Exercise Can Help: If you’ve got that nagging lower back pain that won’t go away, exercise is a great way to manage it. This study reminds us that there’s no single magic exercise that works for everyone.
  2. You’re in Charge: The best exercise is the one you’ll actually do and enjoy. Talk to your physiotherapist and see what kind of exercise you might like. If you enjoy it, you’re more likely to stick with it, and that’s a big part of feeling better.
  3. Your Preferences Matter: When your physiotherapist designs your exercise plan, tell them what you like and what makes you feel good. It’s all about making the exercises work for you and keeping you on track to feeling better.

When it comes to beating that long-lasting lower back pain, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Whether you choose self-stretching exercises or guided exercises, what matters most is finding the one that suits you and helps you on your journey to a pain-free back.

If you are seeking an individual exercise plan for your back pain that you enjoy, call our friendly staff and book in with our physiotherapists.

TPC

Revolutionizing Chronic Pain Treatment with Cognitive Functional Therapy (CFT) as part of our usual care.

Hip pain physiotherapist, hip assessment

Chronic lower back pain is a widespread issue, causing a lot of suffering, missed workdays, and a significant financial burden on healthcare systems around the world. In 2021, The Lancet released a series of articles called “Rethinking Chronic Pain,” which emphasized the importance of finding accessible and effective ways to help people with chronic pain. One approach that stands out is Cognitive Functional Therapy (CFT), which focuses on looking at both the physical and psychological aspects of pain.

A recent study decided to see how well CFT works compared to the usual care people get for their chronic back pain.

Cognitive Functional Therapy (CFT) includes 3 main components:

  1. Making sense of pain
  2. Exposure with control
  3. Lifestyle changes

Usual care includes manual therapy, exercise, dry needling, analgesic medication, spinal injections, joint mobilisation.

They split the study participants into three groups: one group got the usual care they’d been having, another group received only CFT, and a third group had CFT along with biofeedback (which helps people learn more about their body and its reactions).

What they found was pretty interesting. Both groups that had CFT (with or without biofeedback) and the usual care showed improvement in pain intensity, and disability, however the CFT reported less pain compared to those who got usual care, and this difference lasted for quite some time (about a year).

What Can We Learn from This?

If you’re someone dealing with chronic pain, this study gives us some essential takeaways:

  1. Flexibility in Your Approach: Instead of only looking at the physical side of pain, we need to think about how our thoughts, emotions, and daily habits affect our pain.
  2. Try CFT Principles: We can combine CFT with our usual care of exercise, manual therapy and movement. Consider using some of the ideas from CFT in your treatment. Understand the patient’s pain story, educate them about how their mind and lifestyle affect their pain, and come up with a personalized plan to manage pain.
  3. Keep Improving: Even if you’re doing a good job with your usual treatment, it’s still worth comparing it to what CFT offers. There’s always room for improvement when it comes to dealing with chronic pain.

At the physio care we embrace a more patient-centered, holistic approach and incorporate the principles of CFT into our practice, we can aim to provide more effective and efficient care for those struggling with long-term lower back pain.

To book an appointment with one of our clinicians please call our friendly staff today.

TPC

SCIATICA! Not as scary as it sounds

The sciatic nerve is the largest and longest nerve in the body, and is made up of five nerve roots that exit the lower spinal column and merge to form the sciatic nerve. The nerve then travels through the pelvis and down the back of the thigh, eventually branching off into smaller nerves that supply the lower leg and foot.

It can be caused by a variety of factors, including disc bulge or protrusion, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, Periformis syndrome. The risk factors for sciatica include age, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, and occupation.

Sciatica is a condition that occurs when there is irritation or compression of the sciatic nerve. It is characterised by pain, numbness, or tingling that radiates along the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back down through the glutes and legs.

Physiotherapy management for sciatica typically involves a combination of exercises to improve strength, flexibility, advice on initial activity modification as well as manual therapy techniques to help reduce pain, irritation and improve joint mobility in the affected area. The specific physiotherapy management will depend on the underlying cause of the sciatica. Physiotherapy should focus on muscle and nerve stretching and strengthening exercises to improve spinal stability such as core and hip stability exercises.

If you are suffering from Sciatica, book in a consultation with us today to assist you with managing the condition so you can keep participating in the things you love.

TPC team

What Can You Do About Low Back Pain

Low back pain, spine, disc bulge, disc herniation

A prevalent condition in Australia, affecting up to 80% of adults at some point in their lives. A 2018 study found that low back pain was the leading cause of disability globally, with a significant impact on individuals and the healthcare system. In Australia, low back pain accounts for approximately 3% of all hospital admissions and is a leading cause of absenteeism from work.

The most common symptoms of low back pain include pain, stiffness, referral pain into the leg and limited mobility in the lower back. Fortunately, evidence-based rehabilitation has been shown to be an effective treatment approach for low back pain. Studies have found that exercise, such as strength and flexibility training, Pilates and exercise can reduce pain and improve function in individuals with low back pain.

Manual therapy, including spinal mobilisation and massage, can also be beneficial in reducing pain and improving function in individuals with low back pain. Education on exercise, body mechanics, modified activities and pain management strategies can help prevent future episodes of low back pain and promote long-term health and wellness.

With adequate treatment and self-management strategies, individuals with low back pain can improve their quality of life and get back to their daily activities.

To book in a consultation with our therapist to see how we can help manage and eliminate back pain please call on 9116 8691 or book online.

The physio crew team

Do you ever ask yourself, how do I get Muscular? Stronger?

Here are the facts!

Muscle hypertrophy (growth) refers to the process of increasing muscle size, which is often associated with an increase in muscle strength and mass. At the cellular level, muscle hypertrophy is primarily caused by an increase in the size and number of myofibrils. Resistance training in particular, is a potent stimulus for muscle hypertrophy, as it causes muscle fibers to experience tension and damage, which stimulates the production of new muscle proteins and the growth of muscle fibers. Here are three important factors to consider when aiming to increase muscle size and hypertrophy:

First, progressive overload is key. This means continually challenging your muscles by increasing the weight, reps, or sets performed over time. By gradually increasing the workload, you can stimulate muscle growth and hypertrophy.

Second, nutrition is essential. Consuming enough protein to support muscle growth, as well as carbohydrates and healthy fats, can help provide energy and nutrients to fuel workouts and support recovery. Eating whole, nutrient-dense foods can help ensure you’re getting the necessary vitamins and minerals to support muscle growth.

Third, recovery is crucial. Allowing your muscles adequate rest and recovery time between workouts is essential for muscle growth and hypertrophy. Getting enough sleep and taking rest days can help your muscles repair and grow.

In summary, muscle hypertrophy requires a combination of progressive overload, proper nutrition, and adequate recovery to achieve muscle growth and size. By focusing on these three factors, you can optimize your training and nutrition to achieve your goals. To create a customised training plan, call the clinic to book in a session.

Amar Sran
TPC