Acute Lower Back Pain Management

Experiencing a sudden very painful and restricted lower back can be an unpleasant experience. You can suddenly realise how you normally take a strong, stable and pain free back for granted as every little movement can become a painful effort. Lower back pain like this can feel debilitating and worrying - ‘Surly something really bad must have happened if I am in this much pain?!’

n reality though, thankfully not all episodes of pain like this indicate a serious long term problem with your back or even long term damage to your joints. Lower back pain is rarely caused by one thing that happened and is more a product of several things that have been brewing for a time. This could be stiffness in the upper back area from sitting working at a desk or poor breathing mechanics relating to a period of prolonged stress or tension. An old injury to a knee or ankle can contribute to a pattern of compensation that works up into your pelvis and lower back area. Often I see people who have a bad bout of lower back pain are often going through or have recently been through, an emotionally stressful time in their life. They literally feel ‘unsupported’ by life.

When your back first ‘goes’ pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs can be really helpful in managing pain levels and enabling you to get a better nights sleep. Speak to your GP if over the counter medications arn’t giving you adequate relief. You can use Ice packs over the painful area (for as long as it takes to numb the area) on and off over the area to reduce inflammation as well as/or instead of anti-inflammatory drugs if you can’t take them *NEVER PLACE SOMETHING FROZEN DIRECTLY ON THE SKIN WITHOUT WRAPPING IT IN A CLOTH - you will get freeze burns.

Rest but keep moving periodically - gentle movement will actually help. Using pillows under or between your knees when resting will help take the pressure off your back.

Get your osteopath to carry out an assessment, we are trained to rule out serious causes and can work out what has happened. Many cases of lower back pain will improve with a combination of manual treatment, pain management and exercise. It is also helpful to look at the root causes - we can’t always control certain stress and lifestyle factors but having an awareness of the bigger picture can be helpful in identifying when you are becoming ‘overloaded’.

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